Checkmate
by Shockrider
Summary: During one of Temari's routine visits to Konoha, she and Shikamaru start to grow closer. The question is, how will they handle this new game? More importantly, who will win?
1. Chapter 1: Pregame

_A/N: Hey all! This is my first fanfic in a long, long time, so let me know how you like it. This takes place sometime in Shippuuden, although I don't have a specific time in mind._

_Anyways, here's Chapter 1: Pregame  
_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters and I stand to gain no profit from this work of fanfiction.  
_

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Troublesome woman. I get up at the crack of dawn, and she isn't even here on time. I slept in last time and she got here early. I can't win at this. What a drag."

Shikamaru Nara stood outside of Konoha's central gate. As usual, he was under orders from Tsunade herself to wait for the Hidden Sand Village's liaison, Temari. A lot had changed since their first meeting in the chunin exams three years ago. They had been each other's rival competitors, hated enemies, timely saviors and loyal allies all in a matter of weeks. Since then, they had become partners in a formal sense and friends in a more personal one.

Temari made frequent visits to Konoha, which her duties required, and Shikamaru was almost always her guide while she was there. The purpose of the trips varied from visit to visit. Sometimes she came to exchange intelligence or help plan upcoming chunin exams, and sometimes she was sent just to make sure the status quo was being maintained and everything was all right. This visit was for a combination of reasons, so Shikamaru expected to be ready to work. First thing the next day. In the afternoon. If the weather was nice.

Despite the many occasions they had met with each other, one thing remained constant in the years Shikamaru had known Temari; she always was and would forever be a troublesome woman. Nothing ever went as planned when she was around. She found more ways to disrupt his day than he thought possible. Then again, that wasn't always a bad thing. Temari was smart, even if she wasn't quite at his level, and she always provided him with a challenge, which both she and Tsunade told him he needed more of. She was unpredictable in both combat and life, and he genuinely looked forward to her visits and working with her. Most of the time. Even if he _did_ have to get up at obscene hours of the morning to do it.

Shikamaru considered Temari's visits a game of sorts. They would tease each other, spar, play shogi, and plan events while she was in Konoha. He would keep track of how many times she beat him and compare it to how many times he defeated her. There was really no point to it all, it just kept his mind occupied and helped him gauge how the both of them were improving as the years passed.

Yawning, Shikamaru rested against Konoha's massive wall, looking down the path as it disappeared into the forest. He had been waiting for about an hour already, but he didn't dare leave to get breakfast, despite the gnawing feeling in his stomach.

To add to his discomfort, winter was settling into the region, and the weather was cold and damp. Dark clouds hung overhead, threatening to add rain to an already troublesome day. Shikamaru wore thick, padded black pants and a similar long-sleeve shirt under his green flak jacket. He appreciated his mother forcing him to wear boots instead of his normal choice of sandals. His toes would have suffered if she hadn't.

'She didn't have to threaten me though,' he thought. 'Just asking would've worked fine. Scary, troublesome woman.'

Shikamaru closed his eyes, yawning softly. He figured if Temari wasn't going to show up on time, he would at least get a nap in. Settling in against the wall, he prepared to nod off before a loud voice interrupted his peace.

"Hey, crybaby! Sleeping on the job?"

Shikamaru grumbled softly before opening his eyes, spotting none other than Temari walking toward him on the path. She wore a heavy black kimono and carried her massive tessen with ease behind her. Sighing, he shrugged, speaking calmly, "Nice of you to show up," he smirked softly, "What held you? Let me guess… You either went shopping or got your hair done."

Temari ignored his statement, walking up to him. She had teased him, and he returned the gesture. She found it far more entertaining than just saying "Hello." "So, where are we off to first?" she started, "I want to check into my suite, but afterwards, it's up to you."

Shikamaru shrugged, stepping away from the wall and walking with Temari through Konoha's gates and into the village. "You're going to be here for about a week, right?" When she nodded, he continued, "Then let's take the day off. I was going to grab some breakfast if you want to come with me."

Temari scoffed, "Lazy-ass. I just got here and already you want to take a break."

Shikamaru shrugged, "My treat."

She grinned, "Deal."

He chuckled, stuffing his hands into his pockets, "A woman can't be expected to pay for her own meal, after all."

Temari rolled her eyes, letting the jab go. After walking for a while, the two of them approached a tall building next to the Hokage's Palace. The building was a hotel of sorts used to house dignitaries and ambassadors while they were in the Hidden Leaf Village. As Sunagakure's liaison to the Konoha, Temari had a suite all to herself.

The two shinobi walked inside of the large structure, ignoring the scattered VIPs standing in the bright and polished lobby. The floors and walls were made of light red marble with specks of green embedded in it. The massive room radiated the wealth and luxury that most officials expected from such a place. Temari, however, found it to be a little too rich for her tastes. Her room, on the other hand, was nice, but simple.

There was a large bed with white sheets and a beige comforter, a wooden dresser and a small closet with just enough clothes to make sure she could be dressed for any situation, and a simple vanity mirror in the corner of the room.

The one luxury she allowed herself in Konoha was a large bathroom with a shower and a marble bathtub she could soak in. She figured she deserved at least _some_ perks.

Temari got her key from the front desk and made her way upstairs to her room on the building's second floor. She was glad to finally be at her place in friendly territory. Shikamaru walked with her, glancing at her from the corner of his eye as they climbed the stairs. He found himself thinking back to the last time she had been in the village.

Temari had been in Konoha three months earlier to help administer the chunin exams as well as to guard her brother while he was there. When she left, she chided Shikamaru, as usual, about still being a chunin and reminded him to stop being as lazy as he was. Before she disappeared through the gates, however, she flashed him a smile he rarely saw from her. The first time he had seen it, she was leaving Konoha after saving his life during his failed mission to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha. Since then, he had only witnessed it a handful of times, but it gave him an odd feeling whenever he saw it. It was soft, genuine, and warm, unlike her usual confident smirk. She congratulated him on yet another successful set of exams and told him she would be back in a few months for a routine visit. After saying goodbye, her smile faded and she left for home.

After she left, Shikamaru couldn't get that smile out of his head. He wasn't sure why he couldn't forget it, and he eventually chalked it up to her just being troublesome. What surprised him now was that even as though they were only walking to her suite, she was sporting a similar smile. He frowned thoughtfully, unsure of what she was so happy about and why it was making him think so hard. He shrugged it off as they reached her door, choosing to let it go for the time being.

Temari slid her key into the lock and concentrated for a moment. Turning the doorknob, she quickly stepped into the room and onto a thin wire a few feet inside. She then raised her hands into the tiger hand seal and spoke softly, "Release!"

A number of tags had started to glow through the thin wallpaper. When Temari channeled her jutsu into the wire on the floor, it instantly spread to the few dozen flash bombs connected to it around the room, cancelling the trap she had designed for her safety. If she hadn't reacted in time, the tags would have burned holes through the wallpaper and exploded in a series of blinding lights and loud bangs. It was simple, but effective, sure to catch any unprepared intruders off guard and giving her time to defend herself.

Satisfied that the coast was clear, she looked around the room to make sure everything was in order. She furrowed her brow when her eyes landed on her bed. On the covers rested two small, sealed packages. Moving closer, she found that they were packs of chestnuts ready for roasting.

Shikamaru saw her find the gift and nodded, "I thought you might like a snack tonight, seeing as you've spent the last three days running through deserts and forests."

Temari chuckled, "You got these for me? Maybe you're not so lazy after all." Her grin softened slightly as she continued, "Thanks."

He nodded, smiling back, "Come on, let's get going. Waiting for you to show up didn't make me any less hungry."

Temari smirked, "Not even half an hour here and you're already crying about something. That might be a record."

Shikamaru smirked, "Not even half an hour here and you're already being troublesome. That's nowhere close to the record."

She grinned at him as she exited the room, starting to walk down the stairs with him, "See? I held back. You should be thanking me."

Shikamaru chuckled softly, starting to think, 'Always troublesome, but never boring. This should be an interesting week. Let the game begin.'

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_A/N: Well, that's chapter 1. The pace is a bit slow right now, but seeing that this chapter was more Shikamaru-centered, I figured that it was appropriate. Comments are welcome, but not required for me to write more (I'll be writing whether you want me to or not!), and I especially like comments telling me how I can do better._ _So let me hear it, and I hope you enjoyed the story._

_Next is Chapter 2: Setting up the Pieces.  
_


	2. Chapter 2: Setting up the Pieces

_A/N: Hey all, here's chapter 2. My chapters will be getting longer from here on out.  
_

_Also, I'd like to thank xenu1275 for not only being my first reviewer since I've been back on but for also giving me mature, positive feedback. Thanks a lot._

_And thanks to all of my other reviewers for their feedback as well. I really appreciate you all taking the time to comment._

_One last note, __**this chapter contains spoilers for the Hidan and Kakuzu Arc in Naruto Shippuuden. Be advised**_**.**

_And with no more stalling, Chapter 2: Setting up the Pieces._

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Breakfast passed quickly that morning. Shikamaru and Temari spent the time catching up and trading stories about the three months since they had last seen each other. Temari reported that Suna's ninja academy was thriving and the students were stronger than ever. She had been on a few combat missions here and there, but Gaara seemed content to use her for diplomatic purposes rather than fighting. She didn't seem to mind her more peaceful position and she told Shikamaru that she fulfilled her duties well.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru, having already written to tell her of Asuma's death and the defeat of the two Akatsuki members responsible for it, reported that nothing too special had happened to him. He had volunteered to work at Konoha's academy more often and was getting ready to move out of his parents' home. His father had been supportive, but his mom was a wreck, even if she didn't show it outright. Other than that, he told Temari that life had been pretty much normal.

Ordering some hot tea for the two of them, Shikamaru settled into his seat of the booth they shared in the restaurant. While the weather was cold outside, the interior was well insulated and rather toasty. Shikamaru tugged at his collar gently before sighing in defeat. He unfastened his flak jacket and set it down beside him.

As he took the vest off, his shirt rode up on one side, revealing part of his torso. Temari took the opportunity to sneak a peek at what little she could see, noting that his frame was toning up nicely. But as she looked over his abdomen and chest, she spotted the beginnings of a deep scar that started near his navel and disappeared under his raised shirt. She only saw it for a moment before he straightened out his clothes, but her interest had been piqued.

"That's a nasty cut, Nara," she stated as she poured herself a small cup of tea, taking a sip. "Where'd you get it?"

Shikamaru blinked, glancing down at his shirt, knowing full well what she was talking about. While he had told her that he was volunteering at the academy more in addition to his other duties, he had failed to let her know that he had been taking on more and more missions for Konoha. That particular scar came from what was supposed to be a C-rank combat patrol of the Fire Country's border with the Land of Rivers.

~~*******~~

"Ino, Choji, anything to report?" Shikamaru spoke into his headset as he pushed off the branch of a tree, landing on another. He and his old squad mates were scattered in the forest, looking out over a wide river that had similar woods on the other side. It was the the River Country's official shared border with the Land of Fire, and the site of their mission.

"Nothing yet, Shikamaru," came Choji's reply around a mouthful of chips.

"I don't see anything either," replied Ino.

Shikamaru sighed softly, thinking to himself, 'The Hokage said that there were "numerous reports" of unknown shinobi in the area. They supposedly aren't linked to Akatsuki, but they're causing trouble north of here, especially in the Mountain Country and the Land of Grass. Of course, when we get here, they're nowhere in sight. What a drag.'

As he prepared to move deeper into the woods, Ino's voice came through his headset in a hushed whisper, "Wait. I see something across the river. It looks like three… no, four of them."

Shikamaru swallowed, scanning the opposite shoreline for a glimpse of the contacts. It didn't take him long to spot a young female ninja, about three years younger than he was, standing near the opposite shoreline and looking out over the water. She wore a thick set of shoulder pads, which Shikamaru noticed quickly. "Do you two see that girl on the riverbed?"

Choji responded in a moment, "Yeah, I see her. Check out those shoulders. Do you think she's from the Earth Country?"

Ino took the time to respond, "No, I don't think so. Shinobi from the Land of Earth usually only wear one shoulder pad."

"We can't just take that as a given," Shikamaru interjected, "The Land of Earth could have changed its armor for certain squads of ninja. And for all we know, this could be a friendly group having nothing to do with the Earth Country or our targets. Our mission is to get information and get back to the village, remember?"

The three fell quiet for a moment before they heard Choji crunch down on another handful of chips as he spoke, "Yeah, maybe. Still, we should… Whoa! I'm under attack!"

Shikamaru gasped, bolting from the branch he was standing on and making his way toward his best friend. It didn't take long to find him, as Choji was leaping backward over the ground as an arm shot up from the dirt to try to grab him. Whenever the chubby ninja would land, the attacker would reach up from the earth and try to drag him under again, only to retreat underground with each failure.

Despite the attack, Choji didn't seem worried. In fact, he was smirking as the attacker kept trying to snag him. After a near miss, he jumped high into the air and pushed down off a branch, hurling himself toward the ground, and calling out, "Spiky Human Boulder! Take this!"

His long brown hair instantly hardened and extended around his body, which took the form of a large sphere. He began to accelerate until it was spinning rapidly, fueled by his chakra. A second later, he crashed into the ground where the arm had last exited. His hair chiseled away at the dirt and his body propelled him deeper and deeper. After a moment, Choji's jutsu left a large crater in the ground, decimating everything in its path.

Dispelling his technique, he jumped up from the pit he had made and chuckled, "I think I showed that guy."

"You think so, huh, fatty?" came a deep voice from about twenty feet behind him.

Choji slowly turned around, speaking in a low growl, "Who. Called. Me. 'Fat?'"

An older man wearing thick shoulder pads similar to those on the young girl was leaning against a tree. Shikamaru recognized the man's arms as the ones trying to grab Choji from the ground. Making the rat hand seal, Shikamaru sighed. 'Too easy.'

A second later, the man's body went rigid. He was suddenly standing up straight, no longer leaning against the tree, and wearing a bewildered look on his face. The next voice that came was Shikamaru's. "Shadow Possession Jutsu… Success."

Choji grinned, shouting, "All right, Shikamaru! Way to go!"

Shikamaru suddenly looked bored, speaking to the captive in a flat tone, "That didn't take long. Looks like you've got some questions to answer," he paused to speak into his headset, "Ino, are you close by? We need to interrogate this guy before his friends show up."

Ino responded a moment later, "Too late! I'm dealing with two of them right now. I'll lead them to your location, you and Choji get ready."

Shikamaru tensed. He had been holding Choji's attacker for about thirty seconds. If Ino was quick enough, he might be able to grab the two she was bringing with her. The trees certainly provided enough shade to boost his techniques, but time was the real problem. Once he got ahold of them, Ino would probably have about four minutes to interrogate one of them. He knew her father had been teaching her how to look into people's minds for information, but he wasn't sure how good she was at it, or if he could hold down the attackers long enough for her to succeed.

Fortunately for them, she wasn't far away. A moment later, Ino flew through the canopy of the trees in a hail of leaves and kunai with two pursuers, boys their age, hot on her trail. As soon as they hit the ground, however, Choji was ready. "Partial Expansion Jutsu! Arms!"

Two massive arms swept the forest floor, Choji's hands catching the two shinobi and crashing them against each other. The chubby ninja chuckled, "Piece of cake. Hmm, now if only I actually had some cake..."

Shikamaru sighed in relief, extending his shadow to freeze the two new enemies in place before speaking, "Ino, see what you can do. Get whatever information you can out of one of these guys so we can report back."

"Right," she replied, walking up to the jonin and starting to make her hand signs.

Figuring Shikamaru had the new additions to the fight under control, Choji let them go and returned his arms to their normal sizes. Sighing, he looked around the forest floor, thinking for a moment before speaking up, "Hey, where'd that girl go?"

No sooner did he speak than the ground beneath his feat start to shift. Choji stumbled for a moment before leaping up into the air and toward a tree, calling out, "Ino, move it!"

The dirt beneath her began quaking as well, and a second later, the ground split apart, threatening to engulf her. She was quick enough, however, and she was able to jump away in time. Shikamaru frowned, looking around the forest for the last attacker. His search ended in a matter of seconds though, as the earth underneath the tree he was standing on tore open, sending it down.

Shikamaru barely had time to jump to another tree, but in his haste, he lost control of his shadow, freeing his three captives. In a flash, they were gone and the three Leaf shinobi were on their guard. Shikamaru took a deep breath, speaking to his squad, "They've got to be close by, so be careful. Our first target needs to be that troublesome girl. Knock her out and we can handle the rest of them.

"Right," Ino and Choji responded.

The forest was eerily peaceful as they waited. The leaves rustled gently against each other in the breeze and the river flowed slowly downstream. Shikamaru figured that if it weren't for the life-threatening battle going on, it would be a nice place to sit and watch clouds.

The team carefully looked around them, knowing an attack could come at any moment. They didn't have to wait long. The dirt beside the fallen tree Shikamaru had been standing on shifted again, and up came the jonin, two kunai drawn. Choji reacted first, using his multi-size technique on his arms to try to slam him into a nearby rock. The man jumped, however, looking straight at Shikamaru, readying to throw his blades at the Leaf-nin. Just as he brought his hands back to hurl his weapons, however, three shuriken lodged themselves in his back, courtesy of Ino Yamanaka.

The jonin grunted softly at the impact, but as Shikamaru readied to meet him halfway in the air and send him back into the ground, there was a puff of smoke, out of which sailed a tree trunk. Shikamaru frowned, "Substitution Jutsu." He paused as the log rotated and revealed two rectangular pieces of paper attached to the wood. Gasping, his eyes widened, "Paper bombs!"

A second later, he leapt away from the branch he was standing on. Two seconds later, the branch was gone, blown clean off by the force of the massive explosions. The burst of air swept Shikamaru back through the forest and away from his team. He landed hard against the trunk of another tree and looked around to try to find the enemy shinobi. As he searched the forest, he heard the distinct sound of another explosive tag igniting above him.

Shikamaru didn't stick around to see exactly where it was, instead choosing to jump to the forest floor to avoid the blast. As soon as he left the branch, however, he saw the ground underneath him shift and what he assumed was the real jonin emerged from the dirt. Realizing he had fallen into a trap, Shikamaru's mind began racing. Watching the man, Shikamaru saw the enemy begin cycling through hand seals.

He knew he needed to act fast, and in a lightning-quick move, he reached out, dragging his fingers along the side of a nearby tree. He concentrated his chakra into his fingertips and tried to latch on, but as he was about to grab hold, the paper bomb that had been above him detonated, pushing him just a bit harder toward the ground. As he expected, he couldn't stop himself, but using what little leverage he had, he jerked his body into a different position, flipping around so that his feet were raised into the air and his head was closer to the ground as he fell.

This proved to work a great deal in his favor, as a massive spike of earth erupted from the dirt between him and the jonin, impaling the air Shikamaru would have occupied had he not slowed himself down. The downside, however, was that Shikamaru was still very close he to air he was about to occupy. At the last second, the tip of the spike had curved toward Shikamaru as it passed by and tore through his flak jacket, his shirt, and even slashed his skin from his abdomen up to his heart. But Shikamaru was relieved. It could have been much worse.

Thinking quickly, the genius put a plan into action. He let out a blood-curdling scream as he collided with the spike and crashed into the ground. The next sound he heard was the jonin chuckling softly and walking toward him, speaking in his deep voice, "So, it seems that the Hidden Leaf Village has taken an interest in our operation. Too bad you're all they can offer us for fun. Perhaps your death will send a message to the good Hokage to leave us alone. We have no qualm with her. Yet."

Shikamaru panted softly, grunting as he forced himself to his knees, speaking in a shaky voice, "What… What are you doing here? What are your people up to?"

The man laughed, answering him from around the spike, "I don't think I'll be answering your questions. Any last words?" he asked as he rounded the pillar of earth he had created.

Shikamaru's scared face turned into a smirk as he murmured, "Yes. Ninja Art: Shadow Sewing Jutsu."

The jonin only had a second to notice that Shikamaru had formed the bird hand seal with his fingers. A moment later, it was his turn to scream as four shadowy tendrils lifted from the ground and impaled his shoulders and legs before diving back to the earth, locking him in place.

Shikamaru ignored the blood on his own chest and stood up, looking the man in the eyes, memorizing his features before speaking, "You and your group have been troublesome. But now you're under control and my friends will be done with yours in a few minutes."

The jonin winced softly in pain, his eyes wide with shock as he realized he had lost. But, like Shikamaru, his face of fear soon turned into a smirk of confidence as he opened his mouth and shouted as loud as he could, "Squad! Retreat!"

Shikamaru frowned, "We still have you. As long as you're our prisoner, we don't need them."

Still smirking, the man replied, "Oh, you still have me, do you?"

As soon as he finished speaking, his body began to glow with a blinding blue light. It was intense enough to force Shikamaru to look away, and though it only lasted for a moment, when the Leaf shinobi looked back, the jonin was gone. His clothes remained in a pile on the ground, but he was nowhere to be seen. Shikamaru frowned deeply, knowing what had happened; the enemy had chosen suicide over capture. It was a ninja's death.

As the adrenaline in his body faded, Shikamaru groaned in pain and leaned back against a tree. Ino and Choji appeared next to him in a moment, looking frustrated. Ino was the first to speak, "We had them taken care of, but all of a sudden, they took off, and – what in the world happened to you, Shikamaru?!"

She had seen his injury.

Shikamaru waved her off, speaking softly, "Don't worry about me, go after them. We need a prisoner."

Ino rolled her eyes, walking up to him and focusing her chakra. A moment later, her hands were covered by a pale green light and she began to tend to his gash, "No way. If we chase after them, you're going to bleed out. Choji, keep watch and make sure they don't circle around and attack us. This is going to take a while."

~~*******~~

"Nara, are you listening to me? How'd you get that scar?"

Temari's voice shook Shikamaru back to the present. Blinking, he shrugged gently, "Oh, that? I got it in a sparring match with Tenten a couple months ago."

He wasn't sure why he had lied to her. He assumed it was because it would have been too troublesome to explain the entire story. However, a small voice inside his head told him that it was because he didn't want to worry Temari.

That voice was a drag.

Temari smirked softly. She didn't believe him for a minute, but she decided she was feeling generous and didn't press the issue. She still had to tease him, however. "You actually dueled that girl? Why, did you lose a bet?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, taking a long sip from his tea, "You're funny."

"I know," came her reply.

"But looks aren't everything," came his.

'One point for me,' thought Shikamaru.

Temari smirked, "Oh? Then why were you staring at me back at the hotel?"

'And now we're even,' he answered himself.

He considered remarking that he only stared because she was so funny looking, but two things stopped him. First, he knew that wasn't true. Temari was quite attractive, though he would never admit it to her. Second, he enjoyed sitting down. If he actually went through with that comment, he was sure her tessen would connect with his face a moment later.

And on top of it all, he was having a relatively good time with her, which he enjoyed. As the bill came, Temari reached for a few ryō to pay for her meal. Shikamaru stopped her, however, pulling out enough money to cover the costs of both breakfasts, setting it on the table.

Temari frowned in thought, speaking a moment later, "How do you have so much spare money if you never go on extra missions? Have you been saving up?"

Shikamaru shrugged as he finished his tea and pulled his flak jacket on, "Like I said, I've been working at the academy lately. And since this is technically a diplomatic mission, I'll be getting paid for my expenses once you leave. Let's get going, it looks like it's ready to rain," he said, changing the subject.

Temari glanced out the window to see that the clouds were indeed very dark. Grabbing her tessen, she stood up and strapped it to her back, waiting for Shikamaru to get up. Her mind was still burning to know where he really got his scar, and she wasn't above making her own secret plan to find out. She hid a grin before speaking softly, "So, since you've decided that we won't get any work done today, where should we go next?"

Shikamaru stood from the booth, walking out of the restaurant with Temari at his side. He looked up at the sky, watching the thick gray clouds as he spoke, "This weather's a drag, and the clouds aren't any good for watching, either. I figured we could go back to my house and play shogi until you got tired of losing and left."

'Perfect," thought Temari as she suppressed another grin. "You're on. But since you already know you're going to beat me, how about we at least make it interesting?"

He blinked, glancing at her, "Huh? You mean a bet? I don't have _that_ much money."

She shook her head, looking back at him as they walked, "No, not like that. Your winter festival is later this week, right?" Temari gestured around at the buildings, some of which sported decorations on them, signifying the upcoming celebration. When Shikamaru nodded, she continued, "I happen to have with me a couple of the Hidden Sand Village's finest bottles of cactus wine. It doesn't sound very good, I know, but trust me, it's one of the best things you'll ever drink. I had planned to bring them to the festival, but I just thought of a better idea. We can make a drinking game out of shogi. Every time you beat me, I'll have a few drinks, but at the end of every game, you take a drink for each one of your pieces I captured."

Shikamaru thought for a moment. His father was away on a mission, but he wasn't the one Shikamaru had to worry about. Shikaku could drink alcohol like water, so receiving a scolding from him wouldn't be very heartfelt. His mother was another story. If she caught him drinking with a young woman, he would probably have to run to Tsunade for help. Luckily for Shikamaru, his mother had left for a nearby village after he departed that morning. She was going shopping for supplies for the festival and wouldn't be back until the next day, at least. Shikamaru sensed an opportunity.

"Fine," he said, "My house is empty, so we can play there. But two conditions."

Temari nodded, "Name them."

"First, we play all day, unless something important comes up. Second, I'll drink after you take a piece that _isn't_ a pawn. Deal?"

Temari knew he preferred the climbing silver tactic in shogi, and thus he had no problem sacrificing pawns to advance the game. His conditions would certainly delay the time it took for him to get sufficiently intoxicated, but she knew that by the end of the day, she would have him where she wanted him. The only problem was that she would be fairly drunk by that time as well. Still, she was willing to take that risk.

"Deal," she said in agreement.

They walked the rest of the way to his home in silence. The Nara house rested in the middle of the forest, away from the busy streets and training grounds of central Konoha. As they entered, Shikamaru slid off his boots and called into the house, "Hey, anyone in here?" When no reply came, he nodded, gesturing for Temari to enter.

The house was clean and tidy, and it hadn't changed much since Temari saw it one year prior. It was a simple, practical building, which seemed to fit the personality of Shikamaru and his family. The main hallway ran through the entire structure, with rooms on either side of it. On the left side of the rectangular building were the kitchen, the dining room, his parents' room, and their bathroom. On the right side was a large living room, Shikamaru's bedroom and a spare room for guests, as well as another bathroom at the end of the hall.

The entire house was rather dark, with only a few lights on at any given time. Temari knew the reason for this was because the lights were placed in strategic locations. They brightened up the rooms enough to see well, but they also were usually set behind objects like plants or shelves. They cast large shadows all over the rooms, turning the entire house into a weapon for the Nara clan.

Shikamaru stretched as he inhaled the familiar scent of his home. Nodding to Temari, he spoke in a relaxed tone, "I'm going to change out of these clothes. The shogi table is in the living room. Go ahead and reset the pieces. I was gonna' lose in seventeen moves anyways."

Temari raised an eyebrow, "There's someone around here who can actually beat you? Who?"

He shrugged as he disappeared down the hallway, replying as he walked, "My dad."

She smirked as she found the table and started setting up the pieces on each side, calling out so he could hear her, "Do you cry when you lose at shogi, too?"

She could practically hear him roll his eyes.

Temari looked around the room to familiarize herself with the area. It was a big space, but it was cozy. The shogi board and chairs were set against the middle of the left wall upon entering the living room. Along the back wall, there was a large fireplace that would certainly keep anyone nearby warm. In the middle of the room sat a large, cushioned green couch that faced the right wall, where a blank television screen stared back. In front of the sofa rested a short table that the family could use to rest items on while they were sitting down. The remaining wall had nothing in front of it, instead holding a number of sketches. Temari didn't recognize many of the drawings, but a few were easy to decipher. She could see some were of Shikamaru as a young boy, and there was at least one for each year of his life since then. Some sketches showed only him while others had his entire former squad, including his late mentor, Asuma. She looked over them for another moment before going back to setting up the shogi board.

A minute later, Shikamaru returned wearing black lounge pants and a gray T-shirt, looking as lazy as ever. The cold weather filled the house with a chill, and while Temari felt it, she didn't complain. Regardless, Shikamaru went to the fireplace and began to build a fire. As he stoked the flame, he noticed that she had set up the pieces for a new game and had placed two bottles of clear liquid, presumably the wine she had mentioned, on each side of the table. On the ground rested an open satchel, which he figured she had been holding under her kimono. Instead of a normal bag, it looked more like a rectangular pouch, thin enough so that she could fasten it against her back without anyone noticing, but long enough to make it useful for carrying things. What little he could see inside revealed that it was more or less her traveling bag, filled with some spare clothes and most likely a few hidden weapons.

Once the fire started up in force, Shikamaru sat down across from Temari at the shogi table. The board itself was a slab of marble embedded into the tabletop. A grid was etched and painted into the stone to reveal the squares for the pieces, and the table itself was made of a rich, dark wood. 'This family takes its shogi seriously,' thought Temari.

Even the chairs they sat on were cushioned and comfortable, perfect for long periods of playing. Shikamaru settled into his seat and looked over the board, thinking for a minute before nodding to Temari, "Troublesome ladies first."

Temari smirked in response, making her opening move.

The first game passed slowly, with both Shikamaru and Temari playing conservatively. After about an hour, however, the Leaf ninja had gained the upper hand and maneuvered his pieces into a checkmate position.

But Temari wasn't playing to win.

Knowing that the game was nearly over, the sand princess made a last ditch effort to capture some of his more important pieces. She managed to take out one of his silver generals and his bishop before he could finish her off.

Sighing, Shikamaru opened his bottle and smelled the wine to get a sense of how it would taste. To his surprise, the scent was light and sweet, not at all unpleasant. He measured out two drinks and downed them quickly, enjoying the flavor more than he knew he should. Meanwhile, Temari graciously acknowledged her own defeat and took a drink for herself. As she set up the pieces once more, she chuckled, speaking softly, "Aren't your parents going to be upset if they find out you've been drinking?"

Shikamaru shrugged, helping her set up the board, "The key words in that sentence are 'if they find out.' So long as we hide the evidence and a certain troublesome woman doesn't tell anyone, I'll be fine. Besides, Konoha shinobi aren't strangers to drinking. Look at Lee. Alcohol makes him a force of nature. Now no more stalling. Your move."

The rest of the day passed similarly. Shikamaru would win match after match, but not before Temari inflicted enough damage to his pieces to make sure he kept drinking. They took short breaks for lunch and to keep the fire going, but they spent most of the day sitting and playing friendly games. Despite his increasing blood-alcohol level, Shikamaru never broke stride. The wine was particularly strong, and Temari figured it would slow him down after a while, but if it did, he didn't show it. Regardless of her hopes, the genius kept winning games at a regular pace, forcing her to drink fairly consistently with him.

Finally, the winter sun started to set, leaving the outside dark and the two shinobi in the firm grip of intoxication. They agreed to stop playing for the time being so they could relax for a while. Temari glanced at Shikamaru's face as he reset the pieces to the positions they were in before the two had arrived. He had apparently memorized where his father and he had left their game off and was going to continue it despite knowing he was going to lose.

Temari found herself admiring that trait in Shikamaru. No matter how lazy and bored he pretended to be, he was never afraid to lose. Whether it was in shogi or in a fight to the death, she knew that when times were tough, the Hidden Leaf Village's "number one coward," as he called himself, was anything but afraid.

She smiled softly as she looked at him in the firelight, and though she pretended to busy herself cleaning up their bottles, she couldn't help but notice the peaceful look on his face. She wasn't sure what caused the look, despite her hunch that it was the wine, but she enjoyed the sight of him being at ease.

Deciding that they had been quiet long enough, she cleared her throat and broke the silence, "Hey, go fix us some dinner. I'll finish cleaning. That's 'woman's work' after all, right?"

Shikamaru chuckled softly, "So is cooking. But beating you all day made me hungry anyways."

He stood up shakily and steadied himself before walking to the kitchen to fix dinner. She smirked as she saw him struggle, finding the fact that he was staggering oddly endearing. Reaching into her bag, she withdrew two fresh bottles of wine to replace the near-empty ones on the table.

The next part of her operation was going to require a bit more finesse. Taking the unopened bottles, she walked over to the couch and set them on the table in front of it. Smelling dinner starting to cook, she took the opportunity to go the nearest restroom with her bag to change her clothes. She stripped off her heavy black kimono and replaced it with a lavender outfit. Her top was a lighter kimono that hugged her form and ended past her thighs, with sleeves that tapered off at her elbows. To complete the ensemble, she wore a pair of tight shorts that barely showed past the hem of her top, which was fastened closed with violet sash. The outfit was more comfortable and lighter than her formal black one, and it showed more skin than her previous choice of dress. She wasn't going to be above using her charm to get her information. Shikamaru was hiding something and she wanted to know what it was.

As soon as she was set, she exited the restroom with her bag and sat back down on the couch. A few minutes later, Shikamaru entered with two trays of food, looking hungry. His plate had a healthy portion of cooked mackerel and steamed kelp, obviously prepared by his mother before she left and just heated up by him. On the other hand, her tray held a large bowl of what looked like vegetable soup. She blinked, looking at the food, surprised he had remembered her favorite meal. She cleared her throat, speaking softer than usual, "Did you make this yourself?"

He shook his head, answering in a similar tone, "No, I've never been any good at cooking. That's just something my mom made up and saved for a rainy day."

As if on cue, they could hear the clouds finally give way to rain, heavy drops pounding against the roof above them. Temari noticed the coincidence and grinned softly as she spoke, "Nice work, Nara. You can control the weather."

He chuckled, starting to eat his meal. Glancing at the bottles in front of them, he spoke, "I thought you said you had 'a couple' bottles of that stuff."

She shrugged, speaking between spoonfuls of her soup, "Yeah, a couple. Ish. Help yourself."

He rolled his eyes, "A couple-ish, huh?" he grinned softly, "But I guess it would be rude of me to turn down the offer of an ambassador." He took another bite of his meal, opened the bottle nearest to him, and took a swig before starting to eat again. Temari had to chew on her lip to keep from grinning, knowing her plan was going well.

They spent the meal in relative silence, just enjoying the food as well as each others' quiet company. Shikamaru's mind began to wander as he ate, starting to think back over the day's events. He had really liked playing shogi against Temari all day. She never won, but she was never easy to beat. A few of her maneuvers had really forced him to backtrack and think up new strategies. Still, when it was all over, he had kept his perfect record.

A few games had confused him, however. There were around three occasions late in the afternoon where she could have punched through a few of his defensive pawns and really had him against the ropes. But each time an opportunity to do so presented itself, she would instead go for his more 'important' pieces. It was true that they were nice to have, but they were never essential to his plans. All she did by capturing them was force him to drink more.

Then realization hit him.

'_That's_ her plan. She's been trying to get me to drink more all day. This was never about shogi for her. Now to figure out what she's up to and –'

"Well, Nara, I should get going," she said, interrupting his thoughts, "This rain doesn't sound like it's getting any lighter. Might as well get wet now rather than get wet later."

'Not a chance,' he thought, ' I'm figuring this out.'

"Nah, don't worry about it," he replied, letting the effects of the alcohol slip into his voice a bit, making his tone even more relaxed and drawn out. Despite being drunk, the knowledge that she was up to something had let him regain control over his mind and send it into overdrive. He continued, "Stay here for the night and save yourself the hassle. Besides, if my mom ever found out I sent a woman home in the cold rain, I'd be in for a whole day of trouble."

Temari hid another grin, clearing her throat and speaking, "Are you sure? I don't want to cause any problems."

He shrugged, "You're fine. Neither one of my parents will be home until at least midday tomorrow." He stood up and took their empty trays into the kitchen before returning to the living room. Deciding to make the atmosphere more relaxed, Shikamaru turned the TV on and sat down just a bit closer to the Sand shinobi on the couch.

Meanwhile, Temari noticed that he was getting more talkative and his attitude was upbeat, even if he did still sound bored. He supported that thought when he turned the volume of the TV down and started talking once more, "How are your brothers?"

Temari was stunned for a moment. Shikamaru never asked about Gaara or Kankuro. She knew they made him nervous, and she figured that he just wanted to avoid getting on their bad sides by not interacting with them. She thought for a moment before answering softly, "They're fine. Gaara's been busy lately, and Kankuro's been taking time off from missions to work on his puppets."

Shikamaru nodded, falling quiet, allowing the ball of conversation to pass to her. She thought for a moment, looking from the TV to the two still mostly-full bottles of cactus wine in front of them. Another plan popped into her head.

"Let's play another game," she said.

Shikamaru frowned thoughtfully, "Of shogi?"

She chuckled, shaking her head, "Not shogi. A game more for our age group."

He shrugged, "You're three years older than me."

"Shut up, you know what I mean," came the quick reply. "Last time I was on a mission, my squad stayed at an inn. To get to know each other, we played this game called 'Truth.' We'd take turns asking everyone questions, and everyone would answer. There are only three rules. First, you have to be honest. Second, if you don't want to answer, you have to drink. Third, if the other person answers, you also have to drink."

Shikamaru thought for a moment, considering the possibilities. While he was heavier and could physically hold more alcohol than she could, she probably had far more experience at drinking than he did. It was a risk he was willing to take. "Eh, fine," he said, "Let's play."

Temari couldn't hold back a soft smirk as he agreed, speaking as she picked up her bottle and held it in her lap, "Remember, the game is get to know one another better. Only pass if you really don't want to answer."

Shikamaru nodded, deciding to take the time to go first, "What's your biggest disappointment?"

That was an easy question for her to answer, "Getting tricked into attacking your village."

The bluntness of the statement caught Shikamaru off guard. After a few seconds, he regained his composure, speaking softly, "That's your biggest disappointment?"

Temari nodded, her voice softening, "We were completely fooled by Orochimaru. He made us look like savages and traitors. I guess… the only thing that bothered me more was the fact that everyone was so willing to go along with it."

Shikamaru looked at her for a moment before sighing and taking a swig of his wine. He noted that her tone was quieter and he swore she might have even been holding back a few tears. Regardless, when she spoke again, any hint of sadness in her voice was gone as she took the game into more light-hearted territory, "All right, crybaby, my turn. Who'd you get your first kiss from?"

She thought she could see his face get even redder than it already was, although she considered that it might have been the firelight coloring his cheeks. He paused in silent thought for a few seconds before lifting his bottle again and taking another drink, causing Temari to grin wide, "Now you _have_ to tell me."

Shikamaru smirked at her, "Not according to the rules. My turn."

They spent the rest of the evening trading questions and answers. Shikamaru was surprised to find out that Temari enjoyed botany and traveling as well as the peaceful duties as a liaison. She, on the other hand, found out a few of his secret cloud-watching spots and learned of his favorite students at the academy, among other details. Shikamaru ended up drinking more than Temari as the night went on, but not by a whole lot. He was rapidly losing his firm control over his mind, and as he neared the end of the bottle, he knew he would need to start playing dirty to allow his body time to recover. He would have to answer any questions she asked while asking more and more personal ones of her, forcing her to keep drinking during each round.

Temari could tell he was near his limit, however. She figured she had pushed him far enough, and she was ready to strike. She sighed softly, glancing at the TV for a moment before looking into his eyes, speaking in a gentler, more caring voice, "So, Shikamaru… Where _did_ you get that scar on your chest?"

'What?' he thought. 'Why is she looking at me like that? And why did she call me by my name? What's with her voice? What's she up to?' His mind was spinning, trying to find out what she was after. It took him a moment to realize that the buildup of the day's drinking had been leading to that simple question. 'Damn. Troublesome woman. She's got me. I have to answer if I want to keep control of my head. I could lie, but what's the point? We're supposed to be allies, friends even. And she should know about this new group if she doesn't already.'

Taking a deep breath, he shrugged, looking away and speaking softly, "I was on a mission with Ino and Choji. We were patrolling border near the Land of Rivers to try to find some ninja who'd been causing trouble," he paused to make sure she was still with him, and when he saw her watching, he continued, "Eventually, we caught up to a few of them. They were… more troublesome than I thought they'd be." He didn't say anymore after that, figuring she would connect the dots.

She did. Her eyes widened as she processed the information, speaking softly, "You mean someone actually… did that to you?" When he nodded, she swallowed, suddenly sounding nervous, "How bad is it? Let me see it."

He hesitated for a moment before giving in, figuring that in his drunken state, she could force him to show it to her if she wanted to. Lifting his shirt up, he revealed the long, deep scar that ran from the right side of his abdomen to just above where his heart rested in his chest. Unable to help herself, Temari reached out, gently running her fingers over the base of the scar and tracing it up to his chest.

Shikamaru wasn't sure why he didn't stop her. Whether it was the alcohol in his system clouding his judgment, the fact that he trusted her as much as he did, or because her touch felt nice on his skin, he let her explore the scar to her heart's content. When she pulled away, he lowered his shirt, exhaling deeply. They remained quiet for a moment, their minds absorbing what just happened.

Then, in an instant, Temari frowned, raising her voice and shattering the peace, "And when were you going to tell me this, Nara?!"

'I should've taken the drink. I definitely should've taken the drink.'

"Nevermind the fact that we're talking about a new enemy _right on the Hidden Sand Village's border_! Look at that scar! You were hurt! You…" she swallowed, looking him in the eyes. When she spoke again, her voice shook slightly, "You could've been killed!"

'Answering that question was as stupid as betting against Choji in an eating contest. I _really_ should've just taken the drin- wait, why is she so worried? I'm fine.'

Temari was rubbing her eyes with her palms, trying to sort through the new information, "How powerful are these people that they can almost-"

"Temari," Shikamaru interrupted, reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder. "Take a deep breath and relax. Look at me. I'm fine. We were going to send Gaara a message about it, but after the attack, the survivors disappeared. We haven't heard any more reports of them in the area since then. And besides, we're ninja. You know as much as I do that we get into all sorts of troublesome situations. This isn't a big deal, and you know it."

Temari tensed gently as she felt him touch her shoulder, but slowly relaxed as he talked. She wasn't sure what was worse: the fact that his words were so easily defusing her anger or that his slight slur made her want to smile. 'He's… He's right. That's just a day in the life of a ninja. This isn't good,' she thought, ' I need to get myself together. Maybe I should just call it a night and get some sleep. This'll make sense in the morning.'

As if reading her mind, Shikamaru squeezed her shoulder gently before pulling back, speaking softly, "This turned into kind of a drag. How about we get some sleep and get an early start tomorrow? I'll fill you in on what you need to know and then you can go meet with the Hokage for more information."

She nodded gently, slowly standing up from the couch. As she reached for the two empty bottles in front of them, Shikamaru waved her off, "You're. Go ahead and use spare bed down the hall. I'll take care of the cleanup."

Temari glanced at him for a moment. 'He must be pretty worried if he's willing to do 'woman's work' and clean up,' she thought, smiling inwardly, 'All right, we're even.'

She nodded, "I'll see you tomorrow morning then." She took a moment to get some of the old strength back into her voice, sounding like her usual self once more, "Get some sleep. Tomorrow's a work day, and I don't want you taking breaks and trying to sneak in a nap."

Shikamaru just grumbled and nodded, and she thought she heard him mutter the words 'bossy woman,' but she couldn't be sure. She made her way to the guest bathroom to get a large drink of water in order to hydrate her body after all the alcohol. Once she was satisfied, she moved to the spare bedroom, let her hair down, and plopped down onto the bed. Within a minute, she was in a deep sleep.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru finished cleaning up the living room and kitchen and made sure to dispose of the empty wine bottles so his mother wouldn't find them. It was bad enough that he had invited a woman who was more or less his age to spend the night at his house. The last thing he needed was for his mom to find out that he had been drunk when he did it.

As his thoughts turned back to Temari, he found himself murmuring, "Troublesome woman. She's going to get me killed one day."

Even as he thought of his mother screaming at him for misbehaving, however, he couldn't help but smile. He had enjoyed his day with the sand princess, even at the end. He had learned quite a lot about her from the game they played as well as when she lost her temper with him. As he climbed into his bed and let his hair out of its ponytail, he forced his mind to turn off so he could rest. He had indeed gained some valuable information over the course of the day. He would organize it in the morning.

"Looks like the game's off to a good start," he murmured to himself as he wrapped the covers of his bed around his body. "I'll have to see how the middlegame starts to pan out tomorrow. For now though, I go back to being Konoha's number one lazy ninja. Life is serene."

And with that, he was asleep.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_A/N: Phew, just over 15 full pages long on MS Word. That chapter was a doozy, but once I started writing some parts, I couldn't stop. Anyways, I tried to keep them as in character as possible, but I figured that once there was some alcohol in their systems, they'd be more talkative. Let me know how you liked it._

_Up next, Chapter 3: Opening Moves._


	3. Chapter 3: Opening Moves

_A/N: Hey all, Shockrider here._

_While I'm almost positive this chapter will not ruin the plot of Naruto: Shippuuden for anyone, just in case someone hasn't seen part II of the anime, __**there are spoilers for the conclusion of the Hidan and Kakuzu Arc.  
**_

_All right, enough of that. Here's Chapter 3: Opening Moves._

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Temari woke up the next morning feeling completely refreshed. The prior day of relaxation and drinking had helped her to unwind after her long trip, and she felt ready to tackle her more official responsibilities as soon as she emerged from her slumber.

Knowing Shikamaru would still be asleep, she took the opportunity to hop into the guest bathroom's shower to wash up and prepare for the day. Once she was clean, she stepped out and dressed in her formal black kimono before putting her hair up into her usual quad-ponytails. Sighing, she took one last look in the mirror and, after making sure she was satisfied with her appearance, moved into the hallway.

As she stretched her arms out, Temari felt a gnawing pain in her stomach and decided to get some food to start the day off. Just as she began walking down the hall toward the kitchen, however, another thought popped into her head.

'Wait, I'm Nara's guest. Why should I have to cook? I guess I'll have to go wake him. This should be fun.'

Two doors down on her left sat the entrance to Shikamaru's room. The door was shut, so she knew her assumption of him still sleeping was correct. Walking softly, Temari slowly moved closer, using her training to keep perfectly silent as she did so. Her main obstacle would be getting inside without alerting the resting shinobi in bed. Most ninja, even genin, were light sleepers, and the softest of noises could jolt them awake. Then again, most ninja weren't Shikamaru.

As Temari made it to his door, she pressed her ear up against the wood to see if she could hear anything. Her efforts were rewarded when she made out the sound of Shikamaru's soft snoring on the other side. Deciding to go ahead with her plan, she took a deep breath and held it as she took hold of the doorknob, twisted it, and very slowly pushed the door open.

Peeking her head inside, it didn't take long for her to find Shikamaru on his bed, still asleep.

'Look at him. He's dead to the world,' she thought to herself as she crept into his room, soundlessly closing the door behind her. Shikamaru's shades blocked out the window, leaving the room in near-total darkness. Even in the dim light, however, the kunoichi could make out a few thin wires strung across the floor, traps set by Shikamaru to keep himself safe. The last time she had been in the house, Shikamaru had shown her a few of them, which had inspired her to create similar ones for her suite in Konoha. Unfortunately for him, that also meant she knew where most of the safe spots in his room were.

As she got closer, Temari knew that the sleeping genius would still have some tricks up his sleeve. Spotting mats around his bed, she figured they would be perfect for hiding more wires or other traps. She moved up to the edge of the mat closest to him and looked over his slumbering form a few feet away, letting her lips turn up into a soft smile. The boy had apparently kicked his covers off in the middle of the night and slept only under the warmth of his shirt and lounging pants. Still smiling, her mind starting to wander. 'You know, he's kind of cute when he's not running his mouth all the time. I'll have to try to shut him up more often.'

Looking over him one last time, she bent over as far as she could, whispering near his head, "Shikamaru… Shikamaru?"

The Leaf-nin simply turned toward her on the bed, grumbling something softly before continuing to sleep.

'Well, I tried to wake him quietly. Time for plan B,' she thought, letting her soft smile turn into an evil grin. Taking a deep breath, she shouted as loud as she could, "_Hey, Nara! Get up!"_

Temari didn't think Shikamaru could move as fast as he did. As soon as the noise had registered in his head, Shikamaru pushed himself up and off his bed, jumping away from the source of the irritating sound and landing on his feet on the far side of the room. His eyes frantically searched the area for a moment before they settled on Temari, his mind finally putting it all together. Just as he opened his mouth call her a 'troublesome woman,' however, an intense pain shot through his head, powerful enough to drop him to his knees. Cradling his head in his hands, he groaned, calling out, "What's going on?! I can barely move…"

'Oh, you have to be kidding me,' Temari thought. 'This is _perfect._'

Walking over to him, Temari sighed, crouching down and helping him to his feet and speaking quietly so she wouldn't hurt his head, "You're an idiot, you know. You're just hung-over, genius." Shikamaru continued to wince gently with each heartbeat, letting Temari help him get to the kitchen, groaning every few moments. As they reached their destination, he spoke weakly, "Get me some water."

She smirked, leaning him up against a counter before replying, "Aren't you going to say 'please?'"

"This is your fault, you troubleso – gah, my head! Yeah, alright, _please_ get me some water."

Temari could feel her cheeks starting to hurt from grinning so wide.

Going to the nearest cupboard, she took out a glass and filled it with cold water. She walked over to him, chuckling softly, keeping her voice down as she spoke, "Here, drink this up and, if you can, refill it."

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered, bringing the glass to his lips and starting to drink the water down. It took him only a few seconds to drain it all, at which point he got more from the sink and repeated the process. He ignored Temari's stifled giggles from behind him, instead clearing his throat and speaking in an irritated tone, "Fine, you got me. Now be useful and go get some medicine from the guest bathroom. My body feels like sludge. I thought I was caught in a genjutsu for a second."

Temari couldn't suppress her laughter as she walked out of the kitchen and down the hall. Grumbling to himself, Shikamaru decided to prepare breakfast for the two of them. After half-seriously considering poisoning her meal, he prepared them each a bowl of freshly sliced fruit and a tall glass of milk.

In a moment, the sand princess appeared with a vial of crushed powder. The label on it read "For mild aches and pain," and Shikamaru took it gratefully. Uncorking the bottle, he poured some of the powder into his milk before resealing the container and setting it aside.

He took a long drink from his glass and breathed deeply, hoping the medicine would start to work sooner rather than later. After massaging his temples for a moment, he began eating his fruit in silence, already wanting the short day to be over. He knew, however, that his day was just beginning. Temari did have actual work to do, and he knew the Hokage would make him help her.

Temari, meanwhile, kept quiet, figuring she had punished him enough that morning. She considered making a comment about his less-than-impressive breakfast, but she couldn't complain too much. After all, he _was_ feeding her even after she nearly gave him a heart attack.

Once they finished eating, Shikamaru stood up, starting to take their dishes to the sink. He yawned softly, still feeling tired, and spoke to Temari as he washed their empty bowls, "Let me just change and we can get going. I'm guessing you want to talk to the Hokage, right?"

Temari nodded,, "Mm-hmm, I need to exchange some information with her while I'm here. But first, I'm going back to my suite to change. Once I'm done with my meeting though, we're going to start planning the next chunin exams."

Shikamaru sighed, "Yeah, I figured." He looked outside through a window and saw that the sky had cleared up significantly. The ground was still wet from the downpour the night before, but other than that, the day was shaping up to be a nice one. Stretching, he finished cleaning up breakfast and walked past Temari, heading toward his room and calling to her, "When you're done meeting with the Hokage, I'll be on the water tower watching clouds."

"Surprise, surprise, Nara," she called back. Deciding that there was nothing else for her to do, she went to retrieve her traveling satchel from the living room. Before she fastened to her kimono, however, a smirk spread across her face. Walking casually to the bathroom she had used earlier, she disappeared inside for a minute before reemerging and leaving the house without a word.

'_That_ should provide some entertainment for tomorrow,' she thought. 'See you later, Nara.'

Humming softly to herself, Temari walked out of the Nara Clan Forest and back toward central Konoha. It was still relatively early, so she took her time as she changed into an ankle-length tan kimono, wanting to look respectable for the Hokage. Sliding her sandals on, she checked one last time in the mirror to make sure her clothes were straight before making her way to the massive building nearby.

Temari usually enjoyed meetings with Tsunade. The Hokage was always very respectful to her, even if she wasn't always so polite to her own subordinates. Temari recalled the last time she had met with Tsunade to exchange intelligence. The older woman spent most of the time berating her assistant, Shizune, for mixing up paperwork. Temari had to force herself not snicker during the entire meeting, only to dissolve into laughter as soon as she was clear of the building.

The Sand-kunoichi hoped that she was about to have a similar meeting. Making her way up the stairs of the Hokage's Palace, she ignored the ANBU checking up on her. As she approached Tsunade's door, she grinned softly as she heard the leader of the Leaf Village barking orders inside.

"Hurry up with that file, Shizune."

"Yes, Lady Tsunade."

"No, not Hinata Hyuga, _Hanabi_ Hyuga. Focus!"

"S-Sorry, Lady Tsunade, right away!"

"It's in the cabinet on the left. No, the other left! Watch out!"

Temari heard a crash followed by the sound of dozens of loose pages flying in the air. 'I guess this is a good a time as any,' she thought before taking a deep breath and knocking firmly on the door.

"Yes, come in!" she heard the Tsunade say, sounding tense.

Temari stepped inside and closed the door behind her, looking around. The office looked like it had been hit by a tornado. There were countless papers and folders piled on the desk and many more strewn about on the floor. Shizune was busy trying to organize some of the pages into a stack, but she seemed to be having little success.

Upon seeing Suna's liaison, Tusnade cleared her throat, settling herself and nodding to her assistant, speaking in a calm, professional tone, "Shizune, take Tonton out for a walk. You can clean this up later."

"Of course, Lady Tsunade," the dark-haired woman replied before scooping up the Hokage's pet pig and scurrying out the door.

Once she was gone, Tsunade just sighed, rubbing her eyes, gesturing to the chair on the other side of her desk, "Sit, please. It's been a while, Temari. It's good to see you again."

Temari bowed politely, her tone formal and respectful as she spoke, "Yes, it's been too long, Lady Hokage." As she began to stand up straight, she happened to glance at a few of the papers on the floor. A number of mission reports had been scattered around by Shizune's fall. Neither Tsunade nor her assistant had apparently made the time to file them away. While the Hokage's disorganization wasn't surprising in the least, the mission reports themselves caught Temari off guard. She saw Shikamaru's name on at least three papers indicating successful missions completed in the last month. Two assignments had been C-rank missions while one was a B-rank. Shikamaru had been busy.

Not wanting to be caught looking at confidential information, Temari kept moving, straightening from her bow and taking the seat offered to her. Without a word, she reached into her kimono and produced a few scrolls sealed with the official insignia of Sunagakure. Making a hand sign, the Sand Village's liaison broke the seals and rolled the papers out in front of the Hokage.

Tsunade peered over them quickly, murmuring aloud as she read the information on each scroll, "The Earth Country has been quiet lately, according to this. Any idea what they're up to?"

"No, Lady Hokage," replied Temari. "Gaara thinks that they might be building up their strength around the Hidden Stone Village, but our spies haven't been able to find out much. All we know is that they seem to be pulling their shinobi away from their borders and deeper into the Land of Earth."

Tsunade nodded, still murmuring as she studied the scrolls, "I'll assign a few reconnaissance missions to see if we can help figure out what's going on. Let's see, agricultural reports, livestock, mission numbers… This all looks in order. Thank you, and tell Gaara the Hidden Leaf Village is grateful. Now, I suppose it's my turn."

The Hokage reached into her desk and withdrew a scroll from a drawer, laying it down over the ones Temari had given her. Making a hand sign of her own, the seal on the scroll disappeared and the paper fell open. The Sand-kunoichi immediately started reading over the intelligence. She ignored the economic reports and quickly searched for a deeper explanation of the skirmish Shikamaru told her about the day before.

She found a mention of it halfway down the scroll and read what was written. The description of the encounter matched what Shikamaru had said, saying only that a hostile squad of shinobi had been encountered in the Land of Rivers. Their motives and goals were unknown, and after they had been forced to retreat, no further reports of their activities came in.

She knew that pressing the issue wouldn't yield any more information, so Temari nodded to the Hokage and allowed her to roll up and seal the scroll once more. Once the report was safely locked away, Temari took the scroll and stashed it in her satchel, figuring Gaara could go over the boring details.

Knowing that Tsunade was a busy woman, Temari stood up and bowed, excusing herself and bidding the Hokage farewell. After she left, she returned to her suite to drop off her bag, staying for only a moment before leaving to find Shikamaru.

While Temari had been in her meeting, her guide had made his way to the village's main water tower. Dressed in heavy black pants, a black long-sleeve shirt and, as always, his chunin vest, Shikamaru sprawled out on top of the large structure, gazing up at the sky. His headache had finally gone away, which was a tremendous relief, but something was still bothering him. Despite his genius, however, he couldn't figure out what it was. Even watching the clouds proved to be no good at easing his unknown worries. Every time he tried to find shapes in the puffy white formations, his interest faded. His heart just wasn't in it that day.

Before he could think too much more about it, he felt Temari land next to him on the water tower. He cast a gentle nod in her direction, still keeping his eyes on the sky. Once she sat down, he spoke, "So, how'd the meeting go?"

She unstrapped her tessen and set it aside, shrugging, "Quick and painless, as usual. How's being lazy been so far today?"

Shikamaru stretched out to emphasize his relaxed state, "Good. It cured my headache."

Temari chuckled, "You mean it dispelled my evil genjutsu?"

He sighed softly, muttering his response, "Yeah, you're right. That was pretty stupid of me. You're probably terrible at genjutsu. Don't we have work to do?"

She smirked, "Fine, if you're gonna' cry about your hangover. So, any ideas for the chunin exams this time around?"

Shikamaru shrugged, "Nah, not really. They've been going well the last few times. Why change it?"

Temari sighed softly, "Can you get any lazier?"

He thought about it for a moment before answering, "I guess I could be on my couch."

She made a dissatisfied noise at his response, "If you don't change anything, nothing progresses. What if we added basic competency trials for the genin squads? You know, a timed obstacle course or something. We could have a couple jonin in there throwing kunai and using basic ninjutsu to keep everyone on their toes."

Shikamaru thought in silence about the suggestion. It wasn't a bad idea, especially if it was built correctly. Regardless, there would have to be conditions, "That might work. But we can't afford to build one for each team. Still, with the right rules in place, I guess it would make for a good test."

Temari nodded, glad he was finally showing some initiative in their duty, even if she _did_ have to give him a nudge in the right direction. Wanting to hear more, she prodded him to continue, "What kinds of rules?"

After considering the options, he responded, "For one, the genin couldn't destroy the course. We can't have someone like you just walk in and obliterate all the obstacles with the wave of a fan. As interesting as that would be to see, that is."

She snickered at that, "So you liked that little display with the flute girl, huh?"

Shikamaru shrugged answered, "I guess I have to admit, it _was_ pretty impressive." He fell quiet for a minute before continuing, his voice softer that time around, "Did I ever thank you for that?"

Temari turned to look at the ninja next to her only to find that he was staring right back, waiting for an answer. She thought for a moment to try to remember if he had honestly thanked her for saving his life. She remembered the trek back to the Hidden Leaf Village after the sound kunoichi's defeat, and then she recalled waiting outside the emergency room with him for news of his friend. Between the time she had leveled half the forest and when Shikamaru had had his breakdown in the hallway of hospital, she assumed he had thanked her for her efforts, but she couldn't remember for sure. Regardless, while she was normally more than happy to chastise him for any reason, including him possibly forgetting to show his eternal gratitude to her, Temari knew that there was work to do.

As she began to tell Shikamaru not to worry about it, his relaxed voice cut her off, "If I _did_ thank you, I guess I didn't do a good enough job of it," he said as he let out a sigh. "It's troublesome, but I can't leave it like that. After we're done, I'll treat you to dinner or something."

Temari smirked, "What, like a date?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, "A dinner between comrades."

She raised an eyebrow, still grinning, "Usually when 'comrades' our age make special plans to go to dinner, it's called a date."

"You're making this more troublesome than it has to be," he grumbled. "Just accept the offer."

Temari clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, "Still no sense of humor, huh, Nara?" she asked. After considering it for a moment, she decided to push her luck, "Fine, but since it's taken you so long, I want payment with interest."

"What do you mean?" Shikamaru asked.

"You and I are having our rematch. Tomorrow, the western sparring field outside of the village," she paused to grin, "I'll even let you sleep in. We can start at noon."

Shikamaru hesitated, trying to talk his way out of a match, "I thought you liked being peaceful. And besides, you _won_ our match in the chunin exams, remember?"

Temari scoffed, "You forfeited after catching me with your shadow. If anything, it was a draw, and you know it."

The Leaf shinobi furrowed his brow in thought. 'I could refuse to fight her, but she'd probably just attack me in the middle of the village. I don't think I'm getting out of this. What a drag.'

"Fine, but if you think I'm falling for that starting time, you're crazy. It wouldn't be much of a match if the sun was directly overhead and I couldn't use my shadow, after all."

'Damn,' she thought. 'I guess he caught onto that.'

He shrugged, "We'll start mid-afternoon. Fair?."

"Deal," Temari answered. "Now, back to work."

They spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon discussing potential tests for the chunin exams. After compiling a list of proposals to send to the Hokage and Kazekage for consideration, they decided to go their separate ways to get ready for dinner. Before he went home to change, Shikamaru gave her directions to a small restaurant near the edge of the village. When he got to his house, he changed into a new set of black pants, a pair that hadn't seen as much combat as the ones he had been wearing, and a short-sleeve shirt. Looking in his closet, he hesitated for a moment before withdrawing a dark green happi coat and sliding it on, fastening it closed with a sash. He figured the nicer he looked, the more likely Temari was to accept his very belated gratitude and leave him alone about it. Taking one last look in the mirror, he left for the restaurant.

Temari was already waiting there, wearing a long, sandy brown kimono that ended near her ankles. As she saw Shikamaru approaching, she chuckled, thinking to herself, 'Huh. He cleans up pretty nice, when he puts some effort into it…'

Shikamaru nodded to her, pushing the restaurant door open and holding it for her, "Hope you're hungry."

She nodded and followed him inside. The restaurant was dimly lit, but tranquil and quiet. Taking a booth, they placed their orders and fell silent, enjoying the atmosphere. Temari relaxed in her seat, closing her eyes and relishing the peace of the moment. What she enjoyed most about spending time with Shikamaru, aside from their verbal sparring matches and occasional contests of wit, was the fact that neither of them felt the need to fill up silences with pointless small talk. She wasn't the sort of giddy, insecure woman who needed to constantly chatter away with someone to feel comfortable. Similarly, she knew Shikamaru wasn't a worrying, overly concerned man who felt required to make sure everything was all right at all times. They were both practical people, and when one of them had something to say, Temari knew they would speak their minds. Meanwhile, if the occasion called for a nice silence, they would let it linger.

Shikamaru looked around the restaurant, having not been there in quite a while. Choji had actually showed it to him when they were younger. It had been one of the chubby ninja's favorites until they took barbecued foods off the menu. Then again, half the reason Shikamaru had decided on that restaurant was because nobody he knew very well regularly ate there. He suppressed a shudder at the thought of Ino walking in and seeing him in a nice outfit eating with Temari. He'd never hear the end of it.

As he finished taking the scenery in, his eyes settled across the table on the Sand Village's liaison. His mind wandered back through the years they had known each other, recounting the experiences they had shared. When he had first met her, she was a typical troublesome woman who had forced him into a fight he would have preferred to avoid. As time went on and they got to know each other better, he grew to tolerate her, and even respect her skill and intelligence. But it wasn't until the failed mission to retrieve Sasuke that he considered her to be his friend.

Sure, she was troublesome, bossy, and sometimes even terrifying, but she had her redeeming qualities as well. Temari wasn't as easygoing as Choji, he thought, but she was just about as fun to talk to. Her attitude ranged from polite and gentle to furious and vengeful, and he was intrigued that she used every emotion he could think of each time he saw her. Shikamaru found himself again concluding that while she was still certainly troublesome, she was never boring. Even if she gave him grief at times, he knew that his life had been just a bit better by knowing her.

"So," his thoughts were interrupted by her soft voice, apparently keeping her volume down to match the mood of the restaurant, "How have you been since your sensei passed away?"

Shikamaru hated the term 'passed away' when someone was referring to Asuma. Passing away was for old men and women who had lived long, enjoyable lives. Asuma had been murdered by a psychopath right before his eyes. Still, he couldn't fault her too much for her choice of words . It was certainly better than asking him how he was holding up since his mentor and friend had been burnt half to death before being slaughtered.

"Some days have been more troublesome than others," came his quiet reply after a moment. "But it helps that I got that Akatsuki bastard back."

Temari nodded, falling quiet. She could tell he was still angry over his sensei's death, and she didn't blame him. A small pang of guilt filled her stomach for bringing it up, and when she saw that he was clenching one of his hands into a fist, the feeling got worse. Swallowing back her tension, she gently nudged his calf with her foot under the table, a small token of comfort. To her surprise, she felt him softly push back, showing his silent gratitude. After a minute, she spoke gently, "You know, one day, the Hokage is going to finally harass you into being a jonin. You'll have your own squad full of your own lazy genin to look after and teach. And just think, you'll have the chance to be just like your sensei and make a real impact on their lives. You can be his legacy and pass down what he taught you, and your students can do the same. He might be dead, but you can help a part of him live on forever."

Temari's words rolled around in Shikamaru's head for a moment. He had already made peace with his sensei's death as well as the fact that he would make sure his unborn child became a cool adult like Asuma. And whether Temari had prepared her words ahead or time or had just said them on the fly, Shikamaru appreciated the gesture. 'I'll give her that much,' he thought. 'She can be a nice person when she wants to be. I might even borrow that speech in the future, if the occasion ever calls for it. I guess… maybe she's not _that_ troublesome after all.'

"Anyways, what's with all the extra missions you've been taking on lately?"

'No,' thought Shikamaru. 'No, she's still troublesome.' The Leaf-nin cleared his throat, shrugging as he spoke, "What do you mean?"

Temari scoffed, "Don't give me that, Nara. I'm a ninja, information gathering is what I do, genius. Stop stalling and answer."

Shikamaru muttered something under his breath before answering, "I told you yesterday, I'm trying to move out of my parents' house."

Temari smirked softly, keeping her voice down, "You don't need to take on extra missions to get an apartment. Your job at the academy would pay enough for it, no?"

The boy just shrugged, looking disinterested, "It might get me something basic, but I want a view of the clouds. I'll have to pay extra for an apartment with a good window in the right part of the village."

"Fine, fair enough, Nara," she said, still keeping her smirk. "Just be careful. You wouldn't want the Hokage to notice you taking an interest in your work. She might promote you."

The arrival of the food saved Shikamaru from having to respond. He silently wondered if she had figured out his intentions of becoming a jonin. Asuma's death had been the catalyst he needed to take his responsibilities more seriously. If he were going to be a good role model for his late sensei's unborn child, he would need to do more than teach at the academy for the rest of his life. He chose not to acknowledge her discovery, however, wanting to save himself an hour of "I-told-you-so's" and other teasing remarks.

The two shinobi quietly began to eat their meals, once again falling into one of their comfortable silences. As Shikamaru stretched his legs out under the table, he realized that his shin had remained gently pressed against Temari's from when he thanked her for her kind gesture. When he moved, his leg rubbed softly against hers for a moment before he figured out exactly how close he had been to her. Clearing his throat, he brought his legs back toward him, averting his gaze and hoping Temari didn't see the slight redness in his cheeks.

While he was sure she had felt the contact, Shikamaru was surprised when she made no mention of it, simply continuing with her meal in peace. Just as he put the incident out of his mind, however, he felt her foot brush against his ankle. Looking up, he saw her stretching as she finished her meal. When she spotted him watching her, she shrugged, moving her foot away from him, "Sorry, my fault."

Something in her voice puzzled him. It was softer, even more so than when she had been talking earlier. Her eyes weren't hardened, her body wasn't tense, and she seemed more relaxed than usual. Taking a sip of her tea, she sighed, speaking in the same puzzling tone, "Shikamaru, I wanted to ask you something." She leaned closer to him, bending slightly over the table, indicating for him to do the same. When he did, she locked her eyes on his, licking her lips, and quieting her voice even further. Once she was sure she had his attention, she murmured, "What's the big idea, pressing your legs all over mine?"

Temari's lips turned into a smirk, knowing she had won that round. She saw his cheeks redden with heat for the second time that evening before he stood up and dug his hands into his pockets. He pulled out enough ryō to cover the meal and cleared his throat, "This should be enough for dinner. I'm gonna' run to the bathroom to wash up. I'll be back in a minute."

She snickered, nodding in response, "Hey, don't be long. I'm still waiting for you to get down on your knees and thank me for saving your life."

"Ha ha, yeah, right," came his reply as he walked toward the back of the establishment. A few minutes went by, and a young waitress came to the table to collect the money Shikamaru had left. Smiling to Temari, the woman spoke cheerfully, "Did you enjoy your meal?"

The kunoichi blinked, nodding from her seat. Clearing her throat, she spoke in a polite tone, ""It was great. One of the best meals I've had in the village."

The waitress grinned, "Good, because it's about to get better, because someone happened to let us know that it's your birthday!"

'What? My birthday was three months ago. What's she talking abou… Oh. Oh, no.'

Servers and cooks swarmed the table in a matter of seconds, carrying a large slice of sponge cake, the restaurant specialty, and singing a birthday song at the top of their lungs. Temari could feel dozens of eyes on her, the eatery's patrons all no doubt watching the scene intently. It was her turn to blush as her eyes searched around for Shikamaru. She finally found him watching her from the restaurant's exit. He wore a satisfied grin as the embarrassed kunoichi made eye contact with him, and, with a casual wave, he turned and walked out, leaving Temari in the care of the waiting staff.

As she watched him leave, Temari's face slowly converted from one of completely shock to one of quiet contentment. Once the noise died down and the establishment's employees went back to work, Temari stabbed her chopsticks into her dessert, eating and murmuring to herself, "Good move, Nara. But not good enough. My last attack for the day is just around the corner. And there's no cake for you in my strategy." Satisfied, she took another bite.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru chuckled to himself as he walked through the forest, the sight of Temari's stunned face still etched into his mind. The last time he had seen her with that look was when he had caught her with his shadow in the chunin exams. Looking up into the sky, he saw that the sun had nearly set and night was almost upon the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Allowing himself one last bout of laughter, he calmed himself down and opened the door to his house, stepping inside.

"Shikamaru? Is that you?" his mother asked from the kitchen, her voice too sweet to indicate anything good.

"Yeah, mom, I'm home," came the boy's hesitant reply. He could already tell that the conversation wasn't going to end well for him.

Yoshino walked into the hall with her hands on her hips and curious, yet unsettling look on her face. "Good. Since you're back, I was wondering if you could tell me why the spare bed was turned down when I got back this afternoon. And why did it look slept in? And why, exactly, was _this _in your bathroom hamper?" Shikamaru looked to see what she was talking about. Peering through the dim light, it took him a moment to spot his mother's hands clenched around the shorts Temari had worn the night before.. Apparently, the sand princess had "forgotten" to pack them before she left that morning.

"Oh. That? I can explain that," he replied, his mind racing to think of an excuse as he tried to stay calm.

'You win this round, troublesome woman. But this isn't over. I'll see you tomorrow. If I live that long.'

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_A/N: All righty, that was a fun chapter to write. It turned into a bit of a prank war, especially toward the end, but considering the name of the chapter was "Opening Moves," I think it was appropriate._

_Okay, enough from me. Look forward to Chapter 4: The Midgame._


	4. Chapter 4: The Midgame

_A/N: This chapter wasn't supposed to turn out as long as I ended up making it, but what's done is done. It was definitely one of the more fun chapters to write though, so I hope everyone likes it._

_Enough chatter. Now, onto Chapter 4: The Midgame._

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I could use Shadow Possession to walk her into a lake," muttered Shikamaru, tossing some feed onto the ground for the gathering deer to eat.

"Or I could crush her fan with my Shadow Strangulation," another mutter, another toss of feed.

"Or maybe –"

"Do your duties and do them quietly, Shikamaru!" snapped Yoshino from inside the house, "Some of us are trying to enjoy the morning! Unless, that is, you'd like to tell me where those shorts came from."

The boy shot a glare back toward the kitchen window, where his mother was preparing for her husband's impending return home. 'Enjoying the morning? What morning? It's not even dawn yet,' he thought bitterly. 'I can't believe I'm up this early doing my chores. What a drag. But fine, if that's how Temari wants to play, I can adapt.'

Shikamaru never minded feeding the deer. In fact, he usually found it calming. But being required to get up at 6 A.M. to do it tested the limits of his normally easygoing attitude. As it turned out, Shikamaru hadn't been able to explain what a woman's shorts were doing in his laundry hamper, despite his initial claims to the contrary. As punishment, his mother had decided that he would help her make sure the house was in order before his father returned home from his long mission. Yoshino was going to have her own assignment in a few days, so her work around the home needed to be completed as soon as possible. Luckily for her, her son was making time in his busy schedule to help her. Or else.

Once the feed was passed out, Shikamaru made a note of how much was left in the storage shed before beginning to count up the deer that had arrived. The Nara clan owned dozens of the animals, many of which were indistinguishable from one another in the very dim light. Still, all Shikamaru needed to do was make sure the number of deer was the same as the previous day and he could go back to bed.

Starting to count the number of the animals present, he wandered around the clearing to make sure he didn't miss any. As he got closer and closer to the last few deer, he added up the numbers he had recorded, "That's 17… 31… 38, and… 49. Great, two of them aren't here."

Shikamaru let out an irritated sigh as he looked around, knowing he had to go find the missing animals. Rubbing his eyes, he took a deep breath before walking away from the clearing and leaping up into the treetops.

Starting to run along the branches, Shikamaru scanned the forest floor for signs of the missing deer. While the Nara Clan Forest wasn't huge, it certainly wasn't insignificant. With no leads, it could take him an hour to find them, perhaps two if he was extremely unlucky. Still, he knew that he would have to return them safely before he could continue his day, and he did feel concerned for their whereabouts. He had been raised to care for and protect the deer around his home, and he knew he would feel terrible if something happened to them just because he was too lazy to take a look around.

After searching the eastern side of the woods, he headed north to try his luck. The deer rarely went to that part of the forest, so it was a long shot, but with rutting season in full swing, he knew they might have branched out into newer territory. He also knew that the northern section of the forest was the most dangerous for them to wander into, which is why he made it his first priority. Caves and brush dotted the border of his family's land there, and mountain lions often used the terrain to ambush animals that strayed too far away.

As Shikamaru pushed off a branch, a loud bleating noise to his left proved his hunch correct. Adjusting his course, he hopped down to the grass, moving closer to where he had heard the sound. When he stepped around a shrub, he came upon a buck and a doe backed up against a rocky outcropping. In front of them, a mountain lion was pacing back and forth, looking for an opening to strike. Each time the predator pounced, however, the buck lowered his horns and rammed the attacker. In the dim light, Shikamaru could see that the lion hadn't failed completely though. While the doe was fine, the buck sported a large slash across its flank, no doubt from the initial ambush.

Relieved he had gotten there in time, the ninja began approaching the mountain lion. The creature saw him out of the corner of its eye and hissed in the boy's direction. At that moment, the doe tried to leap away into the forest, but the predator was too quick, cutting the deer off. As it raised its claw to strike, however, the buck rammed it once more, digging its antlers into the lion's chest and pushing it back.

The carnivore let out a yowl, but recovered quickly. When it moved to counterattack, Shikamaru intervened, throwing a kunai past its head and startling the beast. The two deer took the opportunity to scurry away, leaving the lion alone with human. The predator growled softly, starting to pace back and forth in front of the boy, who looked relaxed, his hands stuffed in his pockets as he watched the animal move.

After the lion growled again, Shikamaru sighed, starting to speak, "Yeah, yeah, I know you're mad, but I couldn't just sit there and let you kill my family's deer."

The creature hissed and growled once more, still slowly pacing near the boy. Shikamaru just rolled his eyes, "Trust me, I'm doing you a favor. I know you can't understand me, but I probably just saved your life."

The mountain lion squared its shoulders and pounced at the human in front of it. Shikamaru easily dodged, however, jumping up into a tree and crouching down on a branch. He wasn't sure why he was trying to talk to something that was trying to kill him, but he found it oddly therapeutic. "I don't wanna kill you. On the other hand, that buck wouldn't have been so nice."

The lion roared, sprinting up to the tree and sinking its claws into the wood one after another. It started to climb, and when it reached the branch the boy was crouched on, the shinobi jumped back to the ground, the lion hot on his heels. As he was being chased, Shikamaru continued speaking in a relaxed tone, "Bucks get territorial around this time of year, and you weren't just threatening him. You were attacking someone important to him."

Shikamaru jumped to a rock, then to a higher one, leading the predator farther away from the forest as it chased him. He was making his way up to a mountainside path that stretched through Konoha's hills. Landing on the ground, Shikamaru slowly started backpedalling, letting the lion catch up to him. As the creature jumped onto the path, Shikamaru continued to talk to it, "Even though you might be stronger or faster or have more energy, he's going to fight you hoof and horn to take you down. Anyone will."

The lion roared before lunging for the boy. Shikamaru jumped over the animal easily, landing behind it and still walking backwards as he continued, "Yeah, you might have gotten those deer, but he would've made sure you died with them. And I know you're just a troublesome, hungry lion trying to get your next meal, but you're going about it the wrong way. Next time, don't attack a doe walking along with a buck willing to defend her to the death. Pick your food carefully and don't let yourself get involved in a fight you can't win."

Looking to the east, Shikamaru saw that the sun had risen fully, casting its light over the forest. "What a drag, it's already dawn. So much for getting a quick nap in. Well, I guess I should be going. Thanks for the chat."

The lion roared once more, crouching down to pounce once more. As it leapt into the air, however, its target jumped away and vanished into the forest below, as if the human had never been there at all.

Temari emerged from her slumber a few hours later. As usual, she ate a small breakfast and showered before going to pick out what clothes she would wear for the day. She was looking forward to her rematch with Shikamaru that afternoon, and to commemorate it, she decided to wear an outfit she had ordered specifically for the occasion. Each year, Temari had her old fighting uniform re-tailored to fit her growing body. Putting on her mesh underlay, she pulled the fighting kimono out of her closet and looked it over.

It was an exact replica of the outfit she had worn during her first match with Shikamaru. Pulling it on, she fastened it closed before tying her signature red sash around her waist. The kimono fit perfectly, which pleased Temari, considering how much she had paid for it. Once she was dressed, she started to choose her gear and weapons. While the match itself was still hours away, she knew that she would have to spend every minute of the available time plotting in order to be ready.

'Obviously, I'll bring my tessen,' she thought, 'but I'll need more than that to beat him. Kunai, shuriken, what else? Come on, concentrate. You need to think outside the box to beat Shikamaru. You know his strengths, but what are his weaknesses?'

Temari tapped her fingers against her massive fan's hilt, furiously trying to come up with a trump card. Her eyes wandered around the room, searching for inspiration for the upcoming battle. She glanced at the unopened packages of chestnuts on her dresser, smiling gently. She still hadn't touched them, having eaten most of her meals in the last few days with the man she was about to try to pummel into the ground, but she still appreciated the gift. She then chuckled at the thought of using them as a weapon, picturing Shikamaru running away while she pelted him with the snacks.

After she pushed that image out of her head, she continued concentrating on the fight, still looking around her room. She glanced at the ceiling and the walls, letting her eyes wander to her bed and her furniture. As she looked at the floor, she caught sight of the wire that was used to disable her room's booby trap. Frowning for a moment, she followed it as it made its way to the wallpaper and disappeared under it. She recalled Shikamaru helping her build the trap, and how much of a hassle it had been to plant all of the flash tags around the room. Some of the originals had been defective or refused to stick to the wall no matter how much chakra they imbued into them. She even remembered when one activated by accident right in front of her. She had been blind and deaf for about five minutes, and once she could see again, Shikamaru had to physically hold her back as she tried to attack the man who had sold them the tags.

Just then, her eyes widened in realization. Scurrying to put her sandals on, she opened the door and made her way downstairs and out into the streets. 'Flash bombs,' she thought to herself. 'I need flash bombs!'

As she exited the building, her mind quickly working on a strategy, a woman's voice called to her, breaking her concentration, "Temari, hold on. Do you have a minute?"

Tsunade was exiting the gates of the Hokage Palace, looking as if she was taking a break for lunch. Temari blinked in surprise, nodding and bowing, speaking in her most respectful tone, "Of course, Lady Hokage. What can I do for you?"

Sounding relaxed and casual, Tsunade answered, "You look like you're in a hurry. Is something wrong?"

Temari shook her head, "No, of course not. I was just on my way to get some supplies. I have a sparring match set up in the afternoon I want to prepare for."

The Hokage looked interested, "Oh? With who? If you don't mind my asking."

"Shikamaru," the younger kunoichi replied.

Tsunade began to think, murmuring softly, "Nara, huh?" When Temari nodded, the older woman continued, "Come with me. We can talk while you get your supplies. I have a favor I want to ask you."

While Temari spent the day gathering flash bombs and talking with Tsunade, Shikamaru tended to his duties around the Nara house. After counting the deer again, he spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon treating the injured buck. Once he was done, he went inside and showered before preparing for his fast-approaching rematch with Temari. He didn't really want to fight her, but he knew that he had no choice. If she wanted to spar with him, he wasn't going to get out of it. With that in mind, he decided to go ahead and start planning.

Shikamaru considered the site of the battle and the weather outside as he started to choose his gear. Knowing that the temperature was cool, he thought about wearing his typical padded pants and long-sleeve shirt to the fight. He also knew, however, that Temari would almost certainly not let him stay still for long. In a situation where he was running and sweating, heavy clothes would become a liability.

He settled on his black pants and a gray short-sleeve shirt, pulling his chunin vest on once he was dressed. Sliding his feet into his sandals, he made his way down the hall of his home and toward the front door. As he left, his mother smiled at him, speaking sweetly, almost unnervingly so, "Have a good day, Shikamaru. Your father should be back this evening, so don't be late."

He blinked, glancing at his mother, who was happily decorating the house in preparation for the festival the next day. "Right," he answered, "I'll be back. Love you, Mom."

As he left the house, he frowned, murmuring softly, "I need to talk to the Hokage. It's got to be against the law to go from homicidal to happy in one day. What a drag. But at least she's not threatening me anymore."

"Nah, that's just how moms are. You know that." Choji jumped down from a nearby tree, landing next to his best friend. He reached into one of his pockets and withdrew a small bag, offering it to Shikamaru, "Chips?"

"No, thanks," the genius replied, not surprised at all at his friend's sudden entrance. "I already had lunch. Besides, I shouldn't to eat too much. I've got a sparring match in an hour."

Choji raised an eyebrow, walking with his former squad mate and digging into the chips Shikamaru had refused. "_You're _going to spar with someone? Did you lose a bet?"

Shikamaru sighed, "More or less. I owe Temari a favor, so –"

"Oh, I get it. I'd offer to tag along, but I'm heading out on a mission soon. I just wanted to say goodbye before I left."

He nodded, "All right, be careful out there. Are you leaving right now?"

Choji shook his head, speaking between mouthfuls of chips, "Nah, I've got time. So, what's your plan to beat her?"

Shikamaru thought for a moment before shrugging lazily and answering, "Nothing right now. It's going to be a troublesome fight, but I guess I'll think of something. I'll just have to play it by ear."

Choji blinked, sounding confused, "What do you mean? Of course you've got a plan to beat her. You're Shikamaru Nara, the Leaf Village genius!

"That's what everyone tells me," Shikamaru answered, sighing gently. "But this woman is a whole new type of troublesome. I didn't _win_ our fight in the chunin exams, remember Choji? Even if I came up with the better strategy, it took almost all of my chakra to catch her. We're more or less an even match."

Choji just sighed, nodding gently as he finished the bag of chips in his hand, "Well, good luck. I need to get going. I'll be back for the party tomorrow!"

Shikamaru waved to his friend as he leapt up into the trees and started running toward his destination. Sliding his hands into his pockets, his own words sank in. He had never really thought about it before, but now that he had said it aloud, he really did consider her an even match for him. He could plan out two hundred strategies with dozens of steps each, but she would find the one way to make all of them pointless. 'Why am I even taking this so seriously?' he thought. 'It's just a troublesome sparring match. Who am I trying to impress?'

Less than an hour later, Shikamaru arrived at the designated training field outside of Konoha. It rested just beyond the central gate and was one of the Leaf Village's four full-sized sparring arenas. Most shinobi were content to use one of the smaller fields for exercises and training, but Temari had wanted a true rematch, choosing one of the larger arenas for that exact purpose.

The field was essentially a huge circular clearing in the forest outside Konoha. The grass was wilted and short from the cold winter weather, and numerous boulders and trees were scattered around the landscape. A shallow also moat ran along the outside of the field, perfect for water style jutsu.

Shikamaru surveyed his surroundings, starting to work out combat tactics based on the shadows around him. Just as he completed the fourth back-up plan to his second strategy, the voice of a young boy interrupted his thoughts, "Hey, Shikamaru-sensei! What're _you_ doing here?"

The voice belonged to none other than Konohamaru, or "Little Naruto" as Shikamaru sometimes called him. He was standing at the edge of the arena with his friends Udon and Moegi. The three of them had only become genin a few months ago, but Shikamaru knew word about them was getting around the village. He also knew that most of the words about them were curses or complaints, but they were nevertheless well known. Shikamaru nodded to them, stretching out as he spoke, "I'm sparring with someone in a few minutes."

"Huh?" came Konohamaru's confused reply. "Did you lose a bet or something?"

"Troublesome kids," he muttered under his breath before speaking loud enough to be heard, "Don't you have a cat to find or some floors to sweep?"

"Nope! We _were_ going to train here, but if you're actually gonna' be fighting, we wanna' watch!"

'What a drag,' Shikamaru thought. "Just what I wanted, an audience.'

"Hey, lazy! Don't think that bringing kids here to watch will make me go easy on you."

Temari had arrived.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Shikamaru said, turning to look across the field to his opponent. He was surprised to see that she was wearing the same design of outfit she had sported in the chunin exams three years ago. He remembered seeing it in great detail as she tried to smash him with her tessen. 'She must've wanted this fight for a long time,' he thought, sizing her up as she leaned against her weapon.

Aside from her fighting kimono, he also noticed the extra pouch strapped to her sash. His mind began to run through the possibilities of what might be inside, but before long, she broke the silence, "Alright, Nara, it's 3:00. Get ready."

He held up a finger, "One sec, bossy woman." Reaching to his left arm, he unfastened his forehead protector. After looking at it for a second, he brought it up and slowly tied around his head, signifying their match as a battle between equals.

Temari blinked as she watched him fasten Konohagakure's symbol into place. It was the first time she had seen Shikamaru do so. She assumed that either he had been too lazy to do it in his prior battles or that he never considered his earlier matches as being proper fights. If it was the second case, Temari wasn't sure whether he considered his opponents beneath to his skill, or if he had always thought of _himself_ as being inferior to others. Then again, she figured he had probably always just been too lazy to do it. Either way, it didn't matter. She was wasting time thinking. There was fighting to be done.

Without a word, Temari opened her tessen with a flourish so that all three moons could be seen. Grunting with effort, she spun around, swinging her fan hard and shouting, "Wind Scythe Jutsu!"

Shikamaru crouched low and jumped hard to the left, avoiding the concentrated gust of air that tore up the ground he had just been standing on. He moved quickly to the nearest tree, hiding behind it and starting to work. Bringing his hands up to form the rat seal, he extended his shadow out across the field toward his opponent, using the shade of the tree to increase his range.

Smirking, Temari jumped away, calling out to him, "Don't tell me you haven't thought of any new tricks since our match, Nara!"

Moving quickly, she began strafing the field, waiting for his attack to reach its limit. When it did, she launched her next move, not even waiting for him to recall his shadow. "No more hiding. Cyclone Scythe Jutsu!"

Shikamaru's eyes widened, recalling that particular attack from their fight with Tayuya. He sprinted away from his hiding spot just as Temari's attack connected, turning the tree into a pile of splinters. He could hear the genin on the sidelines gasp as they watched the fight unfold, her assault apparently being as impressive as it sounded. Keeping his legs moving, Shikamaru made a wide circle around another nearby tree and started running toward Temari, hoping to close the distance between them. As she readied her tessen for another attack, he reached into his vest and produced one of Asuma's trench knives. Focusing for a second, he concentrated his chakra into the blade and hurled it at the kunoichi at a downward angle.

Seeing the blade coming at her, she smirked, not bothering to dodge it. Instead, she brought her fan back and stepped forward, preparing to smash the knife away and attack Shikamaru all at once. As she prepared to announce her jutsu, she swung her tessen with all her might, only to stop dead in her tracks as the trench pierced the ground right where her weapon met it. Her eyes went wide as her body refused to move, her tessen coming to an immediate stop in mid-swing. Adrenaline surged through her body as she tried to figure out what had happened.

The clang of their weapons registered in her ears, and her eyes followed the blade as it bounced off the bottom edge of her fan and into the air. As it sailed away from her, she suddenly felt her body return to her control once more. She flicked her gaze away from the knife and toward Shikamaru, who had nearly closed the gap between them. Leaving his hand was another knife of the same design, and with what energy she could muster, she completed her swing, channeling another Wind Scythe Jutsu.

With her fan already out in front of her, Temari's counterattack didn't generate much strength, but it was enough to send the trench knife flying off course. Shikamaru, meanwhile never broke stride, bringing his hands up to perform the rat seal once more. His shadow compressed itself into a thin line and shot out after Temari, whom he was approaching with each step. Running the calculations in his head, he figured that in two seconds, she would be under his control and the match would be over.

With her body free, however, Temari had no intention of losing. Seeing Shikamaru's shadow getting closer, she used the momentum from her weak counterattack to fuel full spin of her body. Knowing time was short, she let go of her tessen with one hand, reaching into one the spare pouch on her sash and producing three flash bombs. Imbuing her chakra into them, she tossed them to the ground in front of her and placed her hand on her fan once more, having never broken her swing, and shouting, "Wind Scythe Jutsu!"

'Too late,' Shikamaru thought, making one last desperate push toward her and closing his eyes to block out the flash bombs' illumination. Just as he was about to secure his victory, however, the bombs she had cast detonated one after another, emitting bright bursts of light. Gasping, Shikamaru felt his shadow bounce back slightly before shrinking away from her, the bombs acting as a counter to the sunlight and lowering the amount of darkness he had to work with. It was just then he realized just how wrong he had been about her timing.

Having not even had the chance to open his eyes, Shikamaru felt her jutsu crash into his body. At such close range, her attack sent him flying away, slamming him into the tree he had rounded to start his attack. He could practically feel her smirking as he felt thousands of invisible blades slice away at his vest, but he couldn't help but feel impressed with her control. While he was sure he would need to get a new flak jacket, her jutsu hadn't touched his body, leaving him relatively unharmed, save for the impact with the tree. Shaking his head to clear it, Shikamaru slowly pushed himself to his knees with a grunt.

He had no time to rest, however, as Temari pressed her advantage, not wanting to give him time to counterattack. Breaking into a sprint, she closed her fan and lifted it above her head, leaping into the air and bringing it down toward Shikamaru. Realizing what was happening, dropped to his back just as she readied to make contact with him and shot his leg out, connecting hard with her weapon and kicking it out of her hands.

Seeing his chance, he brought his hands together once more to try another Shadow Possession Jutsu. Instead of going for her tessen, however, Temari followed through with her attack, landing hard on Shikamaru and seizing his wrists in a strong grip. The two shinobi struggled against each other, trying to gain the upper hand. Each knew that failure would mean losing the match. If Shikamaru allowed her to incapacitate him long enough get her fan, he'd be a sitting duck. On the other hand, as soon as Temari let go of his wrists, he would be able to use his jutsu, and at that range, there would be no way for her to escape.

Smirking, Temari leaned closer, speaking softly and clearing despite the effort she was putting in trying to keep Shikamaru's hands apart, "So, Nara… are you going to tell me what those trench knives were about? No, wait, let me guess. You can somehow imbue them with your chakra, right? Then you throw them, and they become extensions of your shadow. How close to the mark am I?"

Shikamaru saw the sweat starting to bead on her face. He knew it was getting more and more difficult for her to keep his hands apart. Then again, he was already on the verge of losing the tug-of-war going on. Looking up at her from his back, he saw that she had positioned herself to prevent counterattacks at close range. Her body was pressed close to his so he couldn't elbow her midsection, and she kept his legs pinned down with her own so he couldn't kick. Deciding there was nothing else to do for the moment other than to keep trying to work out of her grip, he decided to answer her question, attempting to sound as relaxed as he could as he spoke, "I guess there's no sneaking anything past you, huh? Yeah, that's just about right."

He could hear the genin cheering in the distance, and when he glanced over in their direction, he was surprised to see a new face watching the battle. A woman in her 20's was staring the two of them down, her arms crossed over her chest. Shikamaru didn't recognize her, but he assumed she was just a shinobi from the ANBU black ops whose mask disguised her face. Regardless, he paid her little mind as he looked back to Temari, their breathing becoming ragged. Swallowing, he spoke once more, "How about we make this match best two out of three hits? I'll even count your attack just now as your first point."

Temari grinned, nodding as she spoke tensely, "Fine. This'll be over in a minute then."

Shikamaru's lips curved up into a smirk as he answered, "That's the idea." He instantly stopped trying to push his hands together and simply stopped resisting, letting Temari wrench them apart. With their arms outstretched, her body was completely open to attack. More importantly, nothing separated her head from his. He used her temporary disorientation to yank her down, rushing up to meet her halfway and slamming his forehead into hers, their protectors making a loud clang as they connected.

He heard Temari grunt softly from the impact and felt her body recoil in shock. Shaking her head to clear it, the kunoichi tried to scramble away to grab her tessen, but Shikamaru's arms locked around her and kept her against him. He brought his hands together and performed three quick hand seals, causing his shadow to contract and move. Temari felt it wrap around her body and lightly close around her neck, causing her eyes widen in shock.

Panting softly, Shikamaru smirked up at her, murmuring, "Shadow Strangle Jutsu. One point for me."

Knowing she couldn't move, Temari nodded, acknowledging her temporary defeat. She rested her hands on either side of his head and began to recover from the struggle. His arms kept her gently against him and his shadow remained loosely around neck to keep her still. Despite the fact that she knew he was just using the time to catch his breath, she couldn't resist the opportunity to poke fun at him, "Getting awfully comfy there, huh, Nara?"

"Just enjoying the view. Next point wins."

His answer caught her off guard, and as soon as she furrowed her brow, he released his jutsu and pushed himself out from underneath her, using her confusion to put some distance between them to resume the fight.

As he got ready for his next attack, he saw that the woman watching them hand begun a long series of hand signs. Frowning deeply, he let out a series of sharp, quick whistles. A second later, the three genin stood up from their seats and disappeared into the forest without a word. Shikamaru, meanwhile, spoke to Temari, "Turn around, we've got a problem."

Temari blinked, then followed his instructions. She spotted the woman and gasped softly, nodding to her comrade in silent understanding. She rushed to her tessen and opened it wide, but just as she readied to launch an attack, the earth started to shake, stopping her in her tracks. The ground continued to rumble until it split apart in front of the woman. Out of the fissure erupted a dragon made completely of rock, easily 50 feet in length. The strange kunoichi said nothing as she looked over her opponents.

The two younger shinobi stared back at her, both of them waiting for her first move. It came a second later, the dragon snapping its rocky jaws and charging Temari, forcing her to sprint to avoid it. Shikamaru, meanwhile, raced over to the shade of a tall rock nearby before to starting to extend his shadow, hoping Temari could hold out while he made his move.

The Sand Village kunoichi seemed to have no problem keeping ahead of the earthen dragon as it chased her, dodging and ducking each time it made a pass. After hurling herself out of the way of the dragon's approach once more, she rolled along the ground before securing her tessen and swinging it back. As she prepared to launch her counterattack, however, her body froze once again no longer in her control. Noticing that she had fallen stilll, Shikamaru looked to see what had happened. His eyes widened as he saw the culprit; at the apex of her swing, Temari had brought her fan's shadow over one of his knives still stuck in the ground. She was trapped where she stood. Shikamaru swallowed, his brain crunching the numbers. His shadow was rapidly closing in on the woman, but her dragon was doing the same to Temari. Gritting his teeth, he knew what he had to do.

"Release!"

He broke his jutsu to form a new hand sign, choosing to abandon his attack to save Temari. The chakra in his trench knives dissipated, allowing his ally to move. But he hadn't quite been quick enough. He watched as Temari leapt into the air only to have the dragon clip her legs and send her hard to the ground. When she didn't move, Shikamaru's stomach tied itself in knots. He could still see her breathing, but she was badly injured and needed to be brought to Konoha's hospital soon. He hoped Konohamaru had interpreted his whistles correctly and was bringing back help.

Looking satisfied, the woman turned her attention toward him, her dragon doing the same. Shikamaru began going over the facts. He was tired, he was injured from being slammed into a tree, and he was running low on chakra. He knew both the woman and her dragon would be troublesome to deal with, and to top it off, he didn't even know who she was or what motivation she had to attack them. Then again, as he looked at Temari's still form on the grass, he found himself caring less about information gathering and more about bringing the stranger down. With one last look at the enemy kunoichi, he knew what he had to do.

Reaching into his vest, he pulled out a kunai and launched it at his opponent. Her dragon swooped down and deflected it with ease, catching it in its massive mouth. It recoiled a second later, however, as the explosive tag wrapped around the blade's hilt detonated, shattering its lower jaw into pieces. While the smoke cleared, dark tendrils spread over the grass and looped themselves through the finger holes of both trench knives, which were still lodged firmly in the ground. As the shadows touched the blades, they were infused with Shikamaru's shadow-based chakra. With two quick flicks, one blade was tossed up into the air, heading toward the Leaf shinobi, while the other was hurled at his enemy at full speed.

The woman angled her misshapen dragon to deflect the blade coming toward her, blocking it and sending it to the ground. Twisting the rocky monster around, she prepared to send it after her last opponent only to find she could no longer control it. Looking down, she saw that the knife she had blocked was sticking into the ground, penetrating the shadow her dragon created. Her eyes widened, recalling what the girl had found out about the shinobi's technique, having been listening to their conversation the entire time. Knowing her dragon was useless, she released her jutsu and let it the beast crumble apart, its remains crashing unceremoniously to the ground. She then focused and lifted her hands to start a new series of seals. As she began to move her fingers into the proper positions, however, she heard a whizzing noise in the air followed by a soft thud in the ground next to her. After that, she could no longer move.

Shikamaru took his time walking to her from where he had thrown the second trench knife. He knew the fight was already over. To be safe, however, he circled around her and withdrew another kunai from his vest pouch, clenching it in his hand and holding it up to the woman's neck from behind. His arm was tense as he held the blade, but his voice was eerily calm, even relaxed, as he spoke, "You know, normally I don't like fighting women. But this time, it wasn't so bad. I'm not sure who you are, but I'll know soon enough. A few shinobi will be coming soon to take you in for questioning. I hope you enjoyed your freedom while it lasted."

He took a deep breath, then exhaled it slowly, his eyes flicking to Temari's form in the grass. He felt a sudden burst of anger threaten to break his calm demeanor, but he kept it down, instead choosing to speak again, "You did yourself a favor by not killing her when she was down. It probably saved your life. I don't wanna kill you, but if she didn't make it, I wouldn't be so nice."

He sighed softly, his body still recovering from the stress of the two fights he had been through. Once he caught his breath, he continued talking, "I'm pretty territorial when it comes to this place, but you weren't just threatening me," he paused to consider his next words, "You were attacking someone important to me. And if there's one thing I've learned during my time as a shinobi, it's that you don't attack the people someone considers important or precious. Because even though your jutsu was stronger and faster than mine was, or even with my chakra almost gone, I was going to fight you tooth and nail to make sure you went down. Even if I had to go with you."

Shikamaru slowly turned his gaze to the sky to watch the clouds, his voice softening as he spoke, "If it helps, I know you're just a ninja doing your job. But you went about this the wrong way. Next time, assuming you somehow get out of here, don't attack someone with a friend nearby willing to defend her to the death. Don't let yourself get stuck in a fight you can't win."

The boy sighed once more, hearing the trees behind him rustle. "Looks like help is already on the way. I guess I should be going now. Thanks for the chat."

As he finished his sentence, Kurenai, Kakashi, and Tsunade herself appeared in an instant, all holding weapons pointed at the woman. Knowing things were under control, Shikamaru picked up the trench knife in the ground and sheathed it, releasing the woman from his jutsu. When he did, however, the woman smirked, and in a puff of smoke, she was gone.

Shikamaru blinked, looking around for the woman, his voice tense once more, "Teleporation Jutsu?"

Kurenai shook her head once, "No, she didn't make any hand signs."

"It was a shadow clone," Kakashi stated calmly. "The real attacker could be anywhere, even across the forest."

Tsunade nodded, "Let's fan out and see what we can find. Shikamaru, take Temari to the hospital to have her looked at. Ino and Sakura are both on duty today. She'll be taken care of. Come in first thing tomorrow to report on what happened here."

The group nodded in unison and split apart to perform their assigned duties. Shikamaru gathered his second trench knife and crossed the field in a single jump, landing at Temari's side. He noticed that her ankles and legs were badly bruised, but other than that, she seemed to be okay. He then considered how he would take her back inside the village's walls. Normally, he would carry her on his back, but he knew he would have to hold her legs to support her weight. He definitely didn't want to aggravate the already bad bruises, so he decided on another course of action. Bending down, he slid his arms under Temari to lift her up, carrying her bridal-style as he started walking back toward the village.

As he hoisted her up, he saw her eyes flicker open and heard her groan. Gazing around, she frowned gently before speaking weakly, "This is your fault, Nara? And that match doesn't count. We're fighting again the next time I come back."

Shikamaru sighed, rolling his eyes, "Troublesome woman. Don't give me any more of a reason to drop you after how many problems your shorts caused me this morning."

"Oh, did I forget those at your house?" Temari asked in a voice that was far too innocent. "Sorry about that. Sort of. Hey, watch your hands."

The trip to the hospital was quick, and the staff expertly tended to Temari's wounds. Upon finishing treating the bruises on the kunoichi's legs, Sakura sent the two of off with some bandages and medicines to help her heal. Shikamaru helped Temari get back to her suite before opting to head home and let her rest for the remainder of the day. By the time they had left the hospital, the sun had already gone down and they were both thoroughly exhausted. After making sure Temari was all right in her room, he bid her goodnight and left her to recover.

As Temari watched Shikamaru walk out the door, her mind wandered back to the battle. The woman's attack had knocked her out of the battle, but she still saw how it had ended. It was one of the few times she had seen Shikamaru so determined. The shock, the fear, the worry, and the relief she had seen on his face sparked something inside her. Shikamaru Nara was a man with no motivation and no cares in the world. And yet, Temari had seen him nearly break himself to make sure she was kept safe and sound. She only wished she had heard what he had been talking about before the woman disappeared. Then again, she had a hunch she would find out sooner or later.

Lying back on her bed, her thoughts focused around Shikamaru once more. She wasn't sure exactly when she had started liking him as more than a friend. Possibly, she figured, it was when she saw him prepare to take on a fresh opponent alone in order to protect her, despite the fact that he was nearly out of chakra. She knew that she would have done the same in a heartbeat had their positions been switched. On the other hand, she thought she could have started liking him two nights before then, when she had slept over at his house. After playing shogi for hours and drinking themselves stupid that evening, Temari couldn't help but wonder how her life would be if all her days were potentially so enjoyable. Although, perhaps without quite as much alcohol involved on a daily basis. Then again, she thought might have been fooling herself for the last three years entirely. It was quite possible that she had liked him from the moment he forfeited their match and turned her expectations of him upside down. Regardless, whenever she had _started_ to like him, she now found herself ready to admit it. "Well, Nara," she said softly, getting comfortable underneath her covers and closing her eyes, "You might be a lazy crybaby… but you're _my_ lazy crybaby now, whether you like it or not."

As Shikamaru slowly walked away from the hotel, he turned his eyes to the sky. The moon was nearly full, illuminating the streets of Konoha even more effectively as the lights built for that purpose. Even the various flashy decorations and lamps prepared for the next day's Winter Festival paled in comparison to the magnificent moonlight.

Rubbing his eyes, Shikamaru let out a heavy sigh as he braced himself against the cold, yearning for the warmth of his bed. He knew he had probably missed his father's return home, but he figured his excuse was good enough. His dad was as easygoing as he was. He would understand. The closer he got to the Nara house, however, the more uncomfortable he found himself becoming. The same unsettling feeling he experienced on the water tower the day before was returning in force. It was rooted deep in the pit of his stomach and gnawed at him so intensely it almost hurt.

Shikamaru grumbled, muttering aloud, "Sure, I spend all day working and fighting, and _this_ is what's bothering me most of all. It's not my lungs or my chest or my arms, it's this nagging feeling in my gut. What a hassle. It doesn't even make any sense. One minute I feel under the weather, and when Temari and I start our work, it just disappears for the rest of the day. Then, just now, I feel fine, but the second I leave that bossy woman's place, I feel miserable again. Let's see… When I think about it, the only common factor there is… Uh oh. Good move, Temari. This game just got a lot more troublesome. "

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_A/N: Like it or hate it, this chapter was definitely fun to write, especially the battle scene. I did have a lot of trouble thinking up how they would conclude that they liked each other though, so I figured to go with their characteristics. With Temari, it was easy. She just realized it and accepted it after putting the pieces together. Shikamaru, however, has to balance his brains with his laziness, so he had to work it all out in his head. Still, it was tons of fun to write this episode, even if it did turn out almost as long as chapter 2._

_This is especially something I want feedback on. I find that a lot of writers rush the characters into realizing their feelings as well as confessing to each other, so I'd like to know if I did all right, or how I could improve if I didn't. I'll appreciate any response I get for that, good or bad. I just ask that you keep it constructive._

_Anyways, onto the future. The loose ends will begin to come together soon. What did Tsunade want to talk about with Temari? Will anything special happen at the festival the next day? And what the heck is up with me and throwing strange ninja into battle scenes? Seriously, who was that gal?_

_Find out in Chapter 5: The Climbing Silver  
_


	5. Chapter 5: The Climbing Silver

_A/N: Once again, thanks everyone for the great comments, especially xenu1275._

_Well, we're in the home stretch, everyone! Today is the festival, and two days afterward, Temari heads back to Suna. Or does she? Yeah, I went there._

_Enough from me, let's get to the show. Here we go, it's Chapter 5: The Climbing Silver._

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Temari woke with a gasp and a start the next morning. She wasn't nervous, or afraid, or even worried. Temari was excited. She was finally going to make Shikamaru hers. Sure, she figured, she might have to smack him around a little if he resisted, but he was a strong boy. Moreover, some brain damage would probably do him a world of good and bring him back down to human levels of intelligence. It was a sound plan in her mind.

As she stood up, she was surprised to feel that there was no pain in her legs. Temari recalled being thrashed by the enemy's Earth Dragon Jutsu and was instantly confused. The day before, she could have sworn her legs were broken, but now they seemed to be just fine. She quickly unwrapped the bandages around her calves and investigated. Sure enough, her bruises and cuts were completely gone. She frowned thoughtfully, murmuring, "We _have_ to send our medic-nin here for their training."

Shaking her head to clear it, she made her way to her closet to choose her outfit for the day. She could hear children laughing outside and music being played from nearby. Images of the decorations she had seen earlier in the week filled her mind, causing Temari to smile as she remembered the Winter Festival. She took a moment to think as she considered the outfits she had. She could wear her most ceremonial kimono, a blue and white contraption with long sleeves and a bottom that flowed down her body before ending at her ankles. Then again, the likelihood of chocolate bonbons raining down from the sky was higher than her being caught dead in such a girly getup. Smirking to herself, she pulled out her trusty black ankle-length kimono, which was as formal as she was willing to get for any reason, especially a party. "Meh. If it's good enough to meet with the Hokage in, then it's good enough to relax around the village in."

Meanwhile, at the Nara household, the generations were engaged in a battle of epic proportions. The bodies of soldiers lay motionless near each other as the fighting raged on nearby. With blow after blow, more fell to the cunning tactics being used by the two factions, some of the fallen even being forced to attack their former comrades against their will. Such was the way of the Nara clan. A war of geniuses was in full swing, and the victor would be not be the side with the strongest fighters or most powerful weapons, but the one with the best strategy and terrain. Just as there seemed to be no end to the carnage, Shikaku Nara ended the battle with his son and his followers with one word: Checkmate.

Shikamaru blinked, his eyes scouring the shogi board before he saw the weak spot in his defense.

His father made his final move, placing a promoted pawn within striking distance of his son's king. Combined with the positioning of his other pieces, there was nothing the younger Nara could do to avoid defeat.

"What a drag," Shikamaru muttered. "Guess I'll set up the board again."

As he began to reset the pieces, his father nodded, "That was a close game. You've been practicing lately."

The boy nodded as he spoke, "A bit. I played a few games with the Hidden Sand Village's liaison."

"Ah," his father mused as he took a sip of sake, "So the shorts your mother found were hers?"

Shikamaru ignored the question, "Your move."

Shikaku bit back a smirk, taking his time as he began setting his pieces up in defensive positions during each turn. "You've been spending a lot of time with her lately, I hear. Even outside of your duties as her guide."

His son once again brushed the statement off, knowing what he was up to. His father had done the same thing when Asuma died, forcing him to confront his emotions. This time, however, it wasn't sadness that threatened to overtake him, but rather joy. Still, Shikamaru was determined to keep his lazy demeanor intact. He had a reputation to uphold, after all. "The Yagura castle?" he said as he looked at his father's pieces, speaking in a bored tone, "Troublesome. I'd like to finish this game today, you know."

His father shrugged gently, taking another sip of his drink, "In a hurry to meet up with her?"

'Guess I walked into that one,' Shikamaru thought as he made his next move, ignoring the question once more. Instead, he tried to draw his father away from that line of conversation, "Are you and mom going to the festival later?"

Shikaku nodded, "Yeah, your mother wants to get out of the house. Normally, I'd think it was troublesome, but she has her heart set on it. Who knows? Maybe we'll even see you and our guest from the Hidden Sand Village there."

Shikamaru noticeably winced. Glancing at his wrist, he sighed, standing up, "Sorry to cut the game short, but Choji should be back, and I said I'd meet him. We can pick this up tonight." With a nod and a wave, he left the living room and exited the house.

His father chuckled, murmuring to himself as he refilled his sake glass, "I wasn't aware my son was so talented. He can tell the time without even wearing a watch."

While Shikamaru left his house, Temari was walking the streets of Konoha's shopping district. She was looking for the a gift for Shikamaru and had already spent an hour in and out of stores trying to find it. Each time she saw something she thought he would like, a nagging voice in her head brought up a reason why it wouldn't interest him. After spending another ten wasted minutes in yet another shop, she decided to break for lunch.

Stalls littered the streets with a number of novelty food sfrom the region, earning a grin from Temari. She gathered a few treats and sat down at an open bench, starting to think about what to get Shikamaru as she ate. 'Nara's too lazy to get a specialty shuriken or anything like that. I could buy him a shogi board, but he probably already has fifty of them lying around. It would probably put him to sleep right on the spot. Come to think of it, what _can_ I get that lazy-ass? All he does is play shogi and take naps. Maybe a blanket? Great. This is going to be harder than I thought.'

Back at square one, Temari finished her meal and walked toward another store. Unknown to her, the person occupying her thoughts was resting on the shop's roof. His best friend, who was enjoying his favorite pastime of eating barbecue-flavored chips, accompanied him. Shikamaru had gotten him a big bag of the snacks, saying they were to congratulate him on his successful escort mission. In reality, he had an ulterior motive. He had bought Choji a large bag to make sure he stayed around. Shikamaru had a question he couldn't figure out the answer to, despite his genius, and thought his friend might be able to help.

Lying on his back with his hands behind his head, Shikamaru collected his thoughts before asking, "Hey, Choji… What do you think love is like?"

The question caught the chubby ninja by surprise. Shikamaru rarely spoke while they were watching clouds, let alone about such serious topics. Still, it was a legitimate query, and after thinking for a minute, Choji answered, "I guess I've always thought of love as being something like a great bag of chips. Once it's open, if you're careless, you might spill what's inside or let the chips go stale. And even if you do everything right, you still might wind up with a burnt batch. But sometimes, if you're careful and a little lucky, it'll be one of the best experiences of your life." He ended his insight with another handful of barbecue-flavored goodness.

Shikamaru frowned at his best friend, wondering if the chubby ninja had actually put that much thought into it. "That's deep, Choji," Shikamaru said in return. "That's a little scary, but it's still deep. But what if you don't tell the person how you feel?"

Choji shrugged, still looking up at the sky, "That's like not even opening the bag in the first place. All you're doing then is wasting chips! I mean, even the bags with a lot of burnt ones have some good ones mixed in." He fell quiet after that, watching a few more clouds pass by before breaking the silence again, "Well, time for me to get going. I heard Kiba and Naruto are planning something for the festival, and I'm gonna try to get in on it." Standing up from his spot on the roof, the pudgy shinobi took one last look at the clouds before heading toward the stairwell. Just as he was about to descend, however, he paused, speaking to his friend once more, "Hey, Shikamaru."

"Hmm?" came the lazy ninja's reply, not even taking his eyes away from the sky.

Choji's voice took on an oddly knowing tone as he continued, "Don't waste your chips." And with that, he was off.

Shikamaru grumbled softly, "First my dad, now Choji. How troublesome."

An hour later, Temari was walking the streets of Konoha with a satisfied grin on her face. She had found the perfect gift for her soon-to-be boyfriend/prisoner. She kept it tucked away in her satchel underneath her kimono, and she was greatly looking forward to giving it to Shikamaru. The only problem was finding him. Still, the drinking game they had played a few days before gave her the knowledge of almost all of his secret cloud-gazing spots. Figuring she would put her wisdom to good use, she started her search.

After checking the water tower and his favorite grassy hill, she made her way back to the shopping district to check the roofs. It didn't take her long to find the lazy ninja, his body propped up against a smokestack as he stared into space. His vacant look threw her slightly, mostly because he was gazing at a wall and not at the clouds. Her eyes wandered over his form for the first time since she had thought of him as more than a friend. He seemed to exude complete efficiency. He wasn't overly muscular, just toned, no doubt a result of his intense shinobi training being offset by his equally intense laziness. She considered his face handsome, but not dazzlingly so. He was attractive enough not to draw stares, but not so good looking that he stuck in someone's memory. His arms were strong, but not rippling, and his hands were… drawn together palms-up with his fingertips pressing against one another.

She realized that Shikamaru was in his thinking pose, no doubt working his mind at maximum strength. Temari went over her options. She considered doing the polite thing and leaving so he could mull over his thoughts. Then she decided not to. With a powerful jump, she landed right next to him and stretched out. She set her tessen aside before sitting down next to him, leaning back against the smokestack, nodding in his direction and saying, "Hey, Nara."

Shikamaru blinked his eyes once, coming back to his senses and separating his fingers. While he couldn't be sure, he thought for a moment that Temari's voice had been softer than usual, almost affectionate. Then he remembered that he was talking about one of the most troublesome women he knew and quickly dismissed the idea. Breaking his silence, he greeted her with a nod, speaking in his normal laidback tone, "Hey. Been enjoying the festival?"

Temari nodded, looking up at the clouds as she answered, "Yeah, a little. How's your day been?"

The boy frowned gently in thought. She was being oddly conversational. Usually after their greetings, Temari shifted the discussion to combat, their duties, or teasing remarks. She rarely asked about his mornings. Then again, he figured she didn't do so because he normally slept until nearly noon, given the chance. Nevertheless, he decided to answer her question, shrugging when he spoke, "Fine, I guess. I spent most of the morning talking with the Hokage about the attack yesterday. She hopes you're doing all right, by the way." He took a deep breath, turning his eyes to the sky for a moment before looking at her legs, remembering the horrible bruising he had seen the day before. "So," he continued, "Feeling any better?"

Temari noticed his gaze turn to her and grinned inwardly. She briefly considered teasing him for looking her over before she deciding against it, shrugging and answering, "I'm fine. Back to 100 percent."

He nodded, letting his eyes linger on her kimono-covered legs for a moment longer before leaning his head back against the chimney, speaking up, "Do you want to go down to the festival?"

"I can wait," she answered. "I've seen most of it already. I think I'm in the mood to take it easy."

Shikamaru nodded once more, hiding his confusion her sudden interest in being lazy. Regardless, he knew that such opportunities rarely came up, so he decided not to question it, simply replying "I can go along with that."

"I thought so," Temari said with a smirk.

He rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but chuckle softly as he replied, "Troublesome woman."

The two shinobi remained sitting for a long while, letting another one of their comfortable silences settle over them while they listened to the sounds of the celebration. As the sun set and the air got cooler, Shikamaru found that his short-sleeve jacket did little to protect him against the falling temperature. When she saw him shiver, Temari grinned softly, speaking for the first time in hours, "If you start crying about the weather, I'm leaving."

Without a word, Shikamaru slammed his fist into the smokestack. At first, Temari thought she had upset him. In a moment, however, she saw what he was up to. A small compartment opened up in the chimney, revealing a blanket and a sleeping mat. Temari rolled her eyes. 'Figures that the only thing he puts any effort into is being lazy,' she thought. Withdrawing the blanket, he closed the space up with another hit. Keeping his silence, he spread the covering around himself, sighing in relief. She saw her chance.

"Hey, open up. I'm getting cold, too."

Shikamaru - glanced at her and - raised an eyebrow, "Hn. Crying about the cold?"

As he looked at her, he found his brain starting to evaluate her in the moonlight. While she was certainly attractive, she didn't flaunt it like Ino did or Sakura used to. He liked the balance it created, making her not too pretty and not too ugly. Her hair was long, but kept up to keep it from being distracting. She was practical and smart, something he found himself coming to enjoy more and more about her.

"In your dreams, Nara," Temari scoffed, answering his sarcastic question, "Now open up before I get my fan involved."

The boy sighed, shrugging as he spoke, "You're gonna have to do better than that. There's a full moon tonight, so my shadow is still here. At this range, I wouldn't even have to move it once I made the hand seal. Besides, lifting the covers is a lot of work, considering how troublesome you're being."

She thought for a moment before she made her reply, "How about a trade then?"

Shikamaru thought for a moment, then nodded, "All right. I'm listening."

Reaching into her kimono, she dug around in her satchel for a minute before producing a thin, rectangular sack about two feet in length and sewn completely shut. Upon looking it over, Shikamaru noticed a small tube sticking out from one of the sides. Frowning in thought, he murmured, "A pillowcase?"

Temari shrugged, "You're half right. Go ahead, take it and focus your chakra into the tube."

Shikamaru did as he was told, taking the sack with a look of genuine intrigue on his face. Making a hand sign to help him, he focused his chakra into his fingers and touched the tube, watching to see what would happen. Just as made contact with the plastic, he heard a soft hissing noise, causing him to jump slightly and drop the cloth on his lap. His anxiety faded quickly, however, when he saw that the sack had become a fully functioning pillow. Smiling softly, he looked to Temari and asked, "I can borrow this if I let you under the blanket?"

She smiled back, "Keep it. It's a gift."

Shikamaru blinked, but nodded after a moment. "Thanks. I like it," he said as he set it behind his head, leaning back to test it out. Finding that he enjoyed the feel of the soft pillow a great deal more than the rock of the smokestack, he closed his eyes and relaxed. A few seconds later, he opened up the blanket, keeping his eyes shut as he murmured, "Come on, before the cold air gets in."

Temari quickly complied, settling in next to him, their shoulders lightly touching as she came to a rest. True to his word, he draped half of the blanket around the kunoichi and let her tuck it in underneath her. As he sat in silence, his mind started to wander to his conversations with his father and Choji from earlier in the day. Despite all their words, only his best friend's final piece of advice really stuck out in his head. 'Hey, Shikamaru. Don't waste your chips.'

He thought about how incredibly ridiculous that sounded out of context, but now that he was nestled against Temari, he couldn't help but wonder if Choji was smarter than he let on. Deciding to press his good fortune, he nudged his pillow toward the woman next to him. She wordlessly accepted the offer as she felt the warm cloth touch her cheek, moving her head to let the padding move behind her before resting back against it.

Just as Shikamaru readied to congratulate himself on another successful maneuver, he suddenly found himself frowning. With Temari so close, two of her four ponytails were pressed up against his cheek. 'Troublesome hair,' he thought. Deciding to remedy the situation, he made three quick hand seals under the blanket before murmuring aloud, "Don't move."

"Huh?" Temari blinked, trying to turn her face to look at him only to be gently held back by an invisible force. The kunoichi frowned, raising her voice, "What's going on here, Nara?"

Shikamaru grumbled, "I said don't move. Just hold on. Troublesome woman…"

Temari felt a gentle tugging sensation before her hair felt out of position, cascading down around her shoulders and farther. The Leaf-nin nodded, releasing the Shadow Strangle Jutsu he had used to pull out her hair bands. As he settled back against the pillow, he murmured, " Relax. It looks nice like this."

He hadn't said it endearingly or affectionately, just matter-of-factly. The comment was simply an observation, as if he could have just as easily said that kunai were sharp or women were a hassle. It was an honest statement with no hidden motives. She liked it. As she settled back against the pillow with him, she silently reveled in the heat the blanket and their bodies provided. She figured that at the rate things were going, she would need little, if any violence at all to make him hers. Just as she was about to speak to continue her plan, however, she heard him murmur, "Why'd you get this for me?"

Temari blinked, shrugging before answering, keeping her voice gentle to match his, "There's a festival going on. Why wouldn't I?"

"Because you've never done it before. So –"

He was cut off by a loud yell from the street below them. Over the noise of the crowd, they could hear what sounded like a very large dog barking followed by the voice of Kiba Inuzuka, "No, Naruto, not yet, you idiot! We don't have all the fireworks ready!"

The sounds of the celebration seemed to die immediately, apparently everyone in the area listening to the exchange as the blonde ninja shouted back, sounding panicked, "Too late, Kiba! Run for it!"

A third voice joined them, this one sounding far less than pleased, "Naruto! What do you think you're doing?! Those belong to Lady Tsunade!"

"Uhhh, heh heh… Iruka-sensei, good to see you! Are you enjoying the party?" Naruto answered meekly.

Kiba quickly interjected, "Get down, both of you!"

A second later, a series of high-pitched whistles pierced the air. Shikamaru and Temari watched as a number of bottle rockets fired past the rooftops. They flew into the sky before starting to explode in a series of wondrous multi-colored designs. The crowd on the streets gasped and started applauding as the fireworks detonated. Glancing at Temari, Shikamaru saw her wearing a soft grin on her lips, apparently impressed with the display.. Just as quickly as they began, however, the explosions ceased, the bright lights turning to invisible ash in the night sky.

They could hear Naruto sigh in disappointment before Kiba grumbled, "I _told_ you."

"Hey, guys," Choji's voice interrupted, "That ember is getting awfully close to that crate, don't you think?"

Shikamaru and Temari turned to see that a small piece of one of the fireworks hadn't burnt out yet and was falling quickly. More importantly, it was getting very close to the ground, and while they couldn't tell where it would land from the roof, Choji's voice hinted that everyone nearby should keep their heads down. A moment later, another string of whistles filled the air, this one louder and lasting longer than before. Two streets away, dozens upon dozens of bottle rockets blasted off, blowing up at various heights and coloring the night sky once again. One particularly large firework shot higher than the rest, and the two ninja on the rooftop eagerly watched its progress. While the other rockets were still detonating, this one reached far above them before seeming to die. A few seconds after the flame underneath it faded, however, there came a bright flash of light and a massive boom. Where the rocket once was, there was instead a huge green leaf in the exact shape of Kohonagakure's symbol.

Applause and cheers erupted in the streets. Even Shikamaru and Temari clapped gently from under the blanket, both grinning softly as the leaf faded into nothingness. Above the noise of the celebration below, Naruto, Kiba, and Choji frantically started scurrying away, no doubt being followed by Iruka. Shikamaru chuckled softly, then thought back to what he and his companion were discussing before the interruption. Remembering his question, he prepared to ask Temari once more why she had gotten him a gift before being cut off by her voice, "I guess I should congratulate you."

Shikamaru blinked, her sentence catching him by surprise. "Why's that?" he asked in return.

Temari shrugged as she responded, "You passed your first test."

The genius furrowed his brow, not understanding what she was talking about. After a moment, she volunteered more information, "Yesterday, you passed the first part of the Hokage's exams for you. You're one step closer to becoming a jonin. It's why I got the pillow for you. It was a gift to congratulate you."

The information didn't register with him. "Wait… What are you talking about. That woman–"

"That woman was one of Lady Tsunade's shadow clones that she transformed to fight you."

Shikamaru's eyes got wide, finally realizing what had happened. When he processed her words and put the pieces into place, his voice got a bit tighter as he spoke again, "You mean that ninja who almost _killed_ you yesterday was… just a test?"

As Temari turned to look at him, she saw genuine shock on his face. It was one of the few times in her life she had seen him display that particular emotion so strongly. Of course, she had seen Shikamaru content, depressed, and even frustrated, but Temari almost never saw the genius completely stunned. It worried her. Before she could speak, however, his look of shock turned into one of annoyed frustration. "You mean the entire fight was a setup?" he asked, starting to raise his voice.

Temari winced at his tone, but remained calm as she answered, "No, not the whole match, just the woman at the end. It was to test your resolve, your prioritizing, and your decision-making capabilities under stress. It was Lady Tsunade's first test to see if you were ready to move on," she finished, starting to smile upon breaking the news in full.

Shikamaru, however, was less than amused. He sat back against the chimney once more, but continued to glare at her as he snapped softly, "How is that your business? When I'm ready to be a jonin, I'll talk to the Hokage about it. Why would you even get caught up in it?"

It was Temari's turn to get angry. "Because she _asked_ me to! She talked to me about it before the fight yesterday!" she said, her own voice bordering on shouting.

Shikamaru remained leaning against the smokestack, still frowning as he retorted, "That doesn't answer my question. Why would you bother getting involved?"

"Because I wanted to see you _succeed_!" she yelled back, "I wanted to see you better yourself and become the great ninja I know you can be!" Temari felt tears stinging her eyes, but she ignored them, still shouting, "You're one of the most incredible people I know, Shikamaru, but you never push yourself! How can you expect the world to just wait around for you while sleep through life? How can…" she swallowed, suddenly nervous, her eyes locking on his as she finished her question softly, "How can you expect _me_ to just wait around for you while you let yourself fall behind?"

The outburst had come too suddenly for Shikamaru to quickly process everything she had said. His eyes were wide as his mind struggled to catch up to the present. Her last question was ringing in his ears, and his brain was desperately trying to decipher what she was saying. He swallowed after a moment and started to speak, his anger replaced by caution and curiosity, "What… what do you mean?"

Feeling the disgust well up inside her body, Temari spoke in a low, icy tone, "You know, Shikamaru, for being such a genius, you really are an idiot."

Before he could say anything, the sand princess was gone, a Teleportation Jutsu aiding her departure. Sighing softly, Shikamaru stayed in his seat, gazing up at the moon. He went back over everything she had said to him and everything that had happened to him that week.

"_How can you expect _me_ to just wait around for you while you let yourself fall behind?"_

"_You're one of the most incredible people I know, Shikamaru…"_

"… _if there's one thing I've learned during my time as a shinobi, it's that you don't attack the people someone considers important or precious."_

"_One minute I feel under the weather, and when Temari and I start our work, it just disappears for the rest of the day. Then, just now, I feel fine, but the second I leave that bossy woman's place, I feel miserable again."_

As he finished going over his thoughts, he felt the familiar sinking feeling return to his gut once more. Groaning softly, found himself agreeing with Temari.

'Yeah, I guess I am an idiot. What a drag. But this isn't over yet. The next move is mine, and now I know all I need to in order to win. '

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_A/N: Well, there's chapter 5! I had originally planned this fic to be 7 chapters long, but I think I'm going to cut out what used to be part 6. In short, that means the next chapter will be the last one of the story._ _ But have no fear. For those who have kept reading and liked the fic, there will be a surprise once I'm done. While there will be one less chapter, the total number of parts will remain the same. That's right, people, I'm talking epilogue here._

_On an unrelated note, I really need to stop listening to music while I write this sort of thing. I almost published, _"You know, Shikamaru, for being such a genius, you really are boom, here comes the boom. Ready or not. How you like me now?"

_It's almost sad how close that is to her being in character._

_Anyways, that's all from me. Get ready, "Chapter 6: The Endgame" is coming up next._


	6. Chapter 6: The Endgame

_A/N: Well, here it is, the last chapter to the story. Oddly enough, I wrote this chapter first, intending for the fic to be a oneshot. After I gave it some thought, I decided to make it longer and just worked around it. As I mentioned, there will be an epilogue, but as far as plot and character development goes, this is it._

_Without further ado, here is Chapter 6: The Endgame_

_NOTE: Having put this story out nearly a year and a half ago, I have to say I'm very pleased with the response. I am APPALLED, however, that I left some terrifyingly glaring typos in here, and in this chapter especially. I am truly sorry. Anyway, here it is, the updated version of Chapter 6: The Endgame._

* * *

The next day was not a good one for Shikamaru. He had learned everything he needed to know about Temari's thoughts regarding him, but at the cost of their relationship as friends and comrades. Knowing that time was short, Shikamaru acted fast, procuring a special item from Ino's greenhouse and stashing it near Konoha's central gate. He tried to monitor Temari throughout the day, but she made it a point to avoid him. He noted that she was very good at it. Still, he knew they would have to see each other at least one more time. As her guide, it was his duty to see her safely to the outskirts of the village when she left. Shikamaru figured that she would not want to see him, but he knew she couldn't force him to abandon his mission. He barely slept that night. The knowledge that the last moves in his game were merely hours away made him restless.

Temari was awake at dawn, eager to get the rest of her business in Konoha done so she could leave for home. She met with Tsunade as soon as the woman would see her in order to finalize her plans for return in three months. She made a point to ask the Hokage to appoint her a new guide. Tsunade didn't ask why.

When Temari approached the designated gate for her departure, she was slightly surprised to see Shikamaru already waiting for her. To top it off, he was fully dressed in his padded black pants, long-sleeve black shirt and his chunin vest. He even appeared to be wide awake. She would've admired his initiative if she hadn't already lost her respect for him. As she neared the gate, she saw a small plant in a pot behind him. She recognized it as a miniaturized juniper tree, no doubt a gift to try to get back into her good graces. It only worked a little bit.

When she got to Shikamaru, he nodded to her, picking up the small potted plant and handing it to her without a word. She glanced at it for a moment, then up at him before reaching out and taking it. 'If I left it with him, he'd let it die, I'm sure. Lazy bastard,' she told herself.

Once they were set, they started walking past Konoha's central gate. Despite her frustration and tension, she couldn't help but feel that the silence was comfortable in its own way. It was early in the morning and the sun was barely up. Being quiet just seemed right. Shikamaru had exhaled softly when she took the plant, and he seemed to be back to his normal, easygoing self. In reality, however, he was barely keeping it together. He had to force himself not to fidget, resting his hands inside his pockets where he wouldn't have to worry about Temari seeing them clenching and relaxing.

The walk to the checkpoint was too short for Shikamaru's tastes. As Temari turned to face him, she spoke in her most diplomatic tone, "Thank you for the escort. I'll be fine from here."

Her voice made him wince gently. It held no trace of friendliness or affection, just neutral professionalism. As she continued forward, he stayed put, starting to rethink his strategy. She hadn't reacted warmly to his gift, and she hadn't even said goodbye to him. Things probably wouldn't end well if he went through with his plan. After a few seconds of deliberation, he reluctantly gave up hope that he would be successful. Shikamaru sighed, then turned around to walk home. He could aleady hear Choji scolding him over "wasting his chips." Grumbling gently to himself, he tried to put it out of his mind only to find that his brain wouldn't let his legs move. With a quiet resignation, he knew what he had to do. After a long moment, Shikamaru took a deep breath and looked over his shoulder to see if Temari was still in sight. He saw that while she had walked some distance, her pace was slow and she hadn't yet disappeared from view.

The boy sighed softly, murmuring aloud, "This is going to be a whole new level of troublesome." Closing his eyes, he brought his hands up to form the rat seal, still facing away from her. The low morning sun extended the various shadows around him for yards, providing him with more than enough ammunition for his plan. As he made the sign, his own shadow flickered before starting to extend toward the slowly-disappearing woman behind him.

It weaved through the shade of trees and bushes, racing toward the kunoichi. Shikamaru wasn't worried about falling short of reaching her with his jutsu, but rather that she would jump into the treetops before he could get to her. Temari, meanwhile, had reached the end of the forested path, unaware of the shadow rapidly approaching her. In front of her stood a large tree that she would need to walk up to continue the journey back to the Hidden Sand Village. It led to a series of easily navigable branches that extended right to the Fire Country's border, making travel much easier until getting to the Land of Rivers.

She crouched low, readying to leap into the forest to continue her trek home. With a soft grunt of effort, she began to push off the ground only to find that her entire body was frozen, no longer in her control. Her fighting reflexes caused her to struggle for a moment before she realized what was happening. She then proceeded to struggle more.

"Damn troublesome woman…. Stop fighting me," Shikamaru murmured, grunting with effort to restrain Temari. A few moments later, the resistance faded, earning a relieved sigh from the shinobi. With one last bit of mental encouragement, he slowly turned around, forcing Temari's body to do the same. Shikamaru gazed at the woman ahead of him, taking a deep breath. He could feel she was tense, as if she was ready to try to break free from his jutsu again at any minute. She was gently flexing in every direction, looking for a weak spot in his control, having not quite given up yet. But after a few more attempts at freedom, she found that it was pointless and simply relaxed. Shikamaru swallowed nervously, knowing that if he didn't play his cards right, he'd have to scramble to Konoha's gates before she reenacted their battle with Tayuya and made him the target.

After one final deep breath, Shikamaru stepped forward, causing Temari to mimic the action. He took another step, and then another, the kunoichi's body following suit each time. Temari began to tense with every footfall as the two approached one other. The long distance between them was rapidly closing. Her eyes widened as she saw him reach into his pouch, withdrawing a kunai and gripping tightly. Fortunately, her own weapon pack was in the same location, and she felt her fingers close around the hilt of one of her own blades. Her relief disappeared, however, as she saw him reach behind his body with his free hand. She knew in an instant that he was going to force her to discard her tessen, which he did, leaving her only readily armed with the kunai in her hand.

Shikamaru could feel her tension rising once more, her resistance to his actions growing with each passing step. It made little difference to him, however. There were enough shadows around him to make sure his jutsu remained strong, and as they got closer, he needed them less and less. After another few steps, the two shinobi stood face-to-face, barely a foot away from one another. Shikamaru let his gaze fall on her eyes, then spoke softly, "Relax, I'm not going to attack you. I just wanted to talk to you for a minute without you interrupting."

He felt her arm strain against his control before relaxing, though she managed to glare at him when he started talking. Once he was sure she was done trying to break free, he nodded and continued, "You probably want to tell me that I could have just asked to talk to you… but let's face it, you're a troublesome woman. And me? You said it yourself. I'm an idiot."

He paused, waiting to see if she would start struggling once more. When she didn't, he spoke again with a new confidence, "People tell me I'm a pretty smart guy. It's mostly true. I can plan out a dozen strategies in minutes for any given fight, I can beat almost everyone I know in shogi and go, and I like to think I've got a good grasp on reality. But if there's one thing on this planet I can't understand, it's you, Temari."

The kunoichi's eyes widened not in anger, but in surprise. 'What's Nara up to?' she thought, her mind racing. 'He's got me trapped, and he's just… talking. And did he just call me "Temari?" What happened to "troublesome woman?"'

When he spoke again, his face was set and serious, his eyes still locked on hers, "I… Our jobs are dangerous. You might be ambushed on your way back home and never be heard from again. Konoha could be invaded tomorrow and I might be the first one to die. It's troublesome, but I guess I need to do this while I can." He hesitated, then raised his kunai, taking another step toward her. Her legs followed suit, and when she stopped, their bodies were within an inch of each other. Gripping his blade, he reached up and around her, positioning the tip inside one of her hairbands and slicing through the material. Three additional cuts severed the remaining ties and sent her golden locks sprawling down behind her.

Temari felt frustrated when her own kunai did nothing to Shikamaru's ponytail, just idly slashing the air behind his head. To her surprise, however, a moment later, she felt herself position her blade inside his hairband and, with a forced flick of her wrist, Shikamaru's hair matched her own.

Chuckling, he smiled softly, lazily, as he tended to do on rare occasions. He looked her over with her hair down and then dropped his kunai, forcing her to do the same. Once they were disarmed, he shrugged, speaking softly, "I guess what I'm trying to say is that you confuse me. And that makes you impossible to get out of my head."

Shikamaru inhaled and exhaled deeply once more, his breath warming her cheek in the cool morning air. Temari's eyes watched his face, her breathing a little shaky at his actions, not to mention the closeness of their bodies. He kept his smile as he finally closed the distance between them, wrapping his arms around her in a warm embrace. She was forced to do the same, and in a moment, they were holding each other in the morning's dim light.

Two things surprised Shikamaru. First, Temari's breathing was quicker than before, a sign of her nervousness despite her normally calm appearance. Second, and more importantly, she wasn't struggling against him. The only thing that worried him was that he was starting to run low on chakra. Still, Shikamaru chose to press his advantage.

"If there's anything Asuma's death taught me," he whispered into her ear, his voice oddly gentle, "it's that life needs to be appreciated. And as much as this kills me to say, sometimes even I need to work at it to be happy." His arms tightened gently around her, pulling her into a more protective hold and having her do the same to him. "You're a hassle, Temari. You're a stubborn, bossy, woman. You give me grief like it's your mission in life. You confuse me. You scare me, and sometimes you drive me crazy. But when I think about it," he paused to phrase his sentence, "When I work out the strategy all the way to the end… I think that trying to be with you might just be worth the trouble."

He reached up with one hand, sliding his fingers through her long hair and feeling her do the same to him. Pulling back a bit, he settled his gaze on her teal eyes for a moment, taking in all of her troublesome beauty before closing his eyes and leaning in. Temari's body moved with him, meeting him halfway as he pressed his lips against hers in a soft, chaste kiss.

Her eyes stayed wide as she felt their lips touch, her entire body tensing while her mind registered what was happening. Their arms were around each other, their fingers were sunk into one another's hair, and Shikamaru was actually kissing her. Once she caught up to the present, she found herself not caring that her body wasn't under her control. She knew it felt right regardless. Squeezing her eyes shut, Temari managed to part her lips, returning the kiss that he had started.

The shock of the gesture caused Shikamaru to pull back a few inches and gaze at her again. He wasn't sure why he was so surprised. He had just done what he was best at. He had taken all of the available data and compiled it into a successful strategy. It was no different from when he had fought against the Akatsuki. Then again, he was dealing with Temari. Temari was never simple.

He winced gently after a moment, knowing his time was almost up. He chuckled softly, his eyes on hers as he murmured, "I guess calling this Shadow Possession Jutsu a success would be an understatement. Speaking of which, I'm just about out of chakra. What a drag."

As he finished the sentence, his technique faded, giving Temari control over her body once more. She kept her eyes on his, pausing for a moment before tightening her arms around him, pulling Shikamaru against her. 'The idiot likes me,' she thought. 'And he actually got off his lazy butt and did something about it. He even drained his chakra to get his message across. Shikamaru… wait. Shikamaru is out of chakra. _Perfect_.'

Without her tessen, Temari's speed was amplified, making her natural strength even more dangerous. Letting go of Shikamaru, she spun as fast as she could, bringing her leg up and slamming it into his waist. With his stamina and chakra gone, he had no time to react to the attack. The blow connected in full force, sending him crashing into a nearby tree and knocking the wind from his lungs.

Meanwhile, Temari took her time. She made sure to pick up her fallen fan before slowly walking up to him. When he saw her approaching, she was wearing the widest, most predatory grin on her face he had ever seen. Shikamaru's eyes widened as he tried to back away, but a sharp pain in his arm stopped him. Temari's kick had not only bruised his waist, but she had sent him into the tree from the side, pinning his arm between the bark and his body. He could tell it wasn't broken, just badly sprained. That thought did little to console him, however. He was out of chakra, and even if he weren't, it would be painful for him to perform hand seals.

He wondered how she was going to kill him. He figured she could prop him against the tree and use her Wind Scythe Jutsu on him at close range. That would do some damage. Perhaps, he then thought, that she had invented a completely new attack that she had been saving up to use on him. Or maybe, and most likely, in Shikamaru's mind, she was just going to beat him with her fan until he stopped twitching.

As he prepared for the savage thrashing Temari looked prepared to deliver, she suddenly stopped. Smirking, she crouched down next to him and spoke in a tone of mock surprise and concern, "Shikamaru, you need to be more careful. If you keep tripping like that, you might get hurt."

She grinned softly, strapping her tessen to her back before reaching out and slowly taking him into her arms, helping him to his feet. When he nearly fell over again, she sighed, speaking in feigned disappointment, "Come on, crybaby, I'll help you walk back to the village." She paused to loop his good arm around her shoulders, letting him use her as a crutch. Once he was settled, Temari rolled her eyes, continuing, "This figures. I'll have to postpone my trip back home because of you."

Shikamaru scoffed, retorting weakly, "Get over yourself. Like this is my fault. No one's making you stay here, troublesome woman."

Temari smirked, "What kind of liaison would I be if I didn't look out for the welfare of Sunagakure's allies?"

He grumbled under his breath, "So you waited until I was defenseless and then nearly crippled me. Good work. I'll make sure to tell your brother of your incredible success at making friends."

She kept her grin as they shambled back into Konoha, ignoring the confused looks they received from the guards as they passed. Temari figured they made quite a sight. She then found herself not caring. Glancing at Shikamaru, she lowered her voice, "Just think about it. Now I have to stay to make sure you're all right. I can't leave until you're back on your feet."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, falling quiet while he caught his breath. It stung his pride slightly that a woman had not only taken him down in one hit, but she was also helping him walk after doing so. Then again, this was no ordinary woman. This was the most stubborn, bossy, troublesome woman he knew, as well as the woman who owned his heart. This was Temari.

As she helped him through Konoha and up to her suite, Temari felt a certain sense of accomplishment. She had finally outmaneuvered Shikamaru Nara and brought him to his knees. Literally. For one shining moment, the genius of the Hidden Leaf Village had been at her mercy, and she planned to savor it for as long as she could. Setting him down on her bed, she helped him get comfortable, removing his chunin vest for him and pulling back the covers so he could get under them. She joined him in a moment, nestling her body against his good side and sliding her arms around his waist. She felt him return the latter gesture and smiled inwardly, rewarding him with a soft kiss on his clothed shoulder. And for the first time in ages, she felt completely at peace.

Right then, Shikamaru and Temari weren't rival shinobi or representatives of their nations. They were just a young man and a young woman enjoying the company and warmth the other provided. The two of them remained still for a long time, reveling in the moment and the new sensations it brought. After what seemed like an eternity, Temari broke the comfortable silence and spoke in a soft, affectionate voice, "Shikamaru, I forgot my plant out on the path. Go get it for me and bring it back here."

"Troublesome woman. I can barely move."

"Huh. So, if I've got you trapped, and you can't move... Hey, Shikamaru."

"Yeah?"

"Checkmate."


	7. Epilogue: To the Victor

_A/N: I've had this epilogue mostly written for a while, so it's really good to finally get it posted. It's very short and not as WAFF-y as I had planned to make it, but I think it fits in with the characters' personalities. It's practical and says what needs to be said._

_This is also my attempt to tie my story in with the Naruto canon, which I always try to do. It's been a lot of fun to see this fic progress and, as always, your reviews were much appreciated. Since this is the last chapter to this particular story, I'm going to be starting on another project now, so if you like my writing, keep an eye out. _

_Also, one last note for anyone wondering what that fight scene back in Chapter 2 was about. No, it wasn't a Big-Lipped Alligator Moment (100 points to anyone who gets that reference). Those mysterious shinobi will be back in force for my OC's fanfic, which is currently about 40,000 words in the making and only about halfway done. I would've posted what I already have, but I wanted to make sure I could prove myself capable of writing something other than a pet project before I did that. However, since I got no negative reviews for this story, I'll probably be working on my OC's fic soon._

_Without any further delay, the Epilogue: To the Victor…_

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Whack!

"Ow! Troublesome woman, what was that for?"

"Just making sure you're comfortable enough for me to relax on. I have high standards," Temari answered nonchalantly before lying down, resting her head on his stomach. The two shinobi had spent the last three days relaxing in Temari's suite under the guise of letting Shikamaru recover from his "accident." Unfortunately, he healed quickly, and they both knew that their time together was nearly over. Neither of them wanted to talk about it.

Instead, Shikamaru lightly ran his fingers through his girlfriend/assailant's hair, trying to enjoy the time they had left before the sun set and she had to go. She turned her head and nuzzled his abdomen through his mesh underlay in return, earning a pleased sigh from the chunin. Glancing up at his face, she could see that he was enjoying her attentions, his eyes slowly closing and his entire body relaxing. Smirking softly, she placed a gentle kiss on his skin before speaking in a teasing manner, "I own you, you know."

Shikamaru frowned, murmuring, "How so?"

She shrugged as she answered, "Think about it. If you get me angry, I can tell my brothers."

"Doubtful," Shikamaru scoffed. "Gaara is the Kazekage. He can't get involved in personal matters like your love life."

Temari chuckled, nodding against his stomach, "Fair enough. But what about Kankuro? He's not quite as honorable as Gaara is."

Shikamaru simply smirked, keeping his eyes closed and his voice even, "I'm not afraid of Kankuro."

She bit her lip, still grinning upon hearing his answer. "You're pretty arrogant for a lazy-ass, aren't you?" Slowly shifting her body, she moved to lie down on top of him. She sighed, burying her face in his neck and murmured, "Either way, I don't need my brothers. I still own you." She ended her statement with a soft kiss on his shoulder.

Shikamaru sighed, wrapping his arms around her and holding her securely to him, "I guess I can't argue that. You _are _a scary woman, after all. So… when are you coming back to Konoha?"

Temari shrugged, murmuring against his neck, "Probably not for a couple months to finalize the plans for the chunin exams."

"What a drag," came his inevitable reply, turning his face to nuzzle her cheek.

In a moment, she slid her arms under Shikamaru and held him tightly up against her. No words needed to be exchanged. Shikamaru knew she had to leave soon. As he gently stroked her hair, he recalled his father's words. _No matter how strong-minded a woman is, she will show kindness to the man she loves_. Shikamaru smiled softly upon realizing that he was holding the same woman who regularly leveled forests with a single swing of her fan. 'Great,' he thought to himself, 'I'm going to be as whipped at he is.' But as he felt Temari kiss his cheek, he found himself not caring. 'I guess I should look at the bright side. Maybe having mom in his secret. I might even beat him in shogi now.'

He held back a chuckle and instead moved his lips to Temari's, giving her one final lingering kiss before murmuring, "It's time."

Knowing he was right, she stood up, already dressed in her black kimono. Grabbing her tessen and her recovered plant, she gave him the same rare, soft smile she tended to every once in a while. Shikamaru grinned lazily in return, sliding on his black long-sleeve shirt before opening the door for her. As they walked, neither of them spoke, letting their special comfortable silence fall between them once more. When they reached Konoha's main gate, Shikamaru stuck his hands into his pockets, nodding to her, "Looks like you managed to make this visit even more troublesome than your last ones."

Temari grinned in response, retorting quickly, "Yeah, but I'm worth it."

He chuckled softly, shrugging in agreement. When he spoke next, his voice was quieter, but more sincere, "Take care of yourself, troublesome woman."

"You, too, crybaby," she replied with a smile. With one final nod to each other, Temari started walking down the same forested path he had trapped her on three days prior. Shikamaru watched her go, smiling to himself as she left and feeling happy with the knowledge that she would be back someday. As his mind started to calculate how the next visit would be different from the one just ending, her voice interrupted his thoughts, calling to him from a distance, "Hey, Nara! If you're not a jonin when I get back, we're going to have some problems!"

Before he could respond, she disappeared into the trees. Allowing himself a small laugh, he shook his head, continuing to gaze out at the forest in front of him. The week had been had certainly been a troublesome one, but he thought that he would perhaps have to reevaluate what "troublesome" actually was. As he started to devise a "drag scale" in his head from 1 to 10, 1 being a butterfly obstructing his view of some clouds and 10 being that same butterfly dropping a paper bomb on him, he was interrupted by a deep, airy voice from behind him, "Shikamaru Nara. The Hokage wishes for your presence."

The boy sighed, frowning gently and murmuring back, "This is probably a 5 on the scale… What for?"

The ANBU shinobi answered through his mask, "Earlier today, a coded message arrived from Jiraiya from Amegakure. Lady Tsunade believes that the message he sent is critical for the Hidden Leaf Village's defense and it must be decoded at once. That is all I am permitted to tell you."

With a nod, the ninja was gone. Shikamaru sighed, taking one last look at the path ahead of him before turning back and silently making his way toward the Hokage's palace. It was going to be a busy night. Luckily, there was a certain blonde kunoichi he knew he could count on to give his mind the motivation it needed to keep working.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_A/N: I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone (once again) who has reviewed my story. Everything from the long, detailed reviews explaining specifically what you liked and didn't like (my favorite) to the short, one-line encouragements have been great. I know it can seem like a hassle to post comments, but every author knows that getting a glowing review in your inbox can turn a bad day into a good one, and a good one into a great one. _

_I'll _never_ demand reviews to keep writing my stories. I write because I want to, not because I want someone's praise. But getting a nice comment certainly helps me pull up Microsoft Word more often and start a new chapter. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that if you really liked reading a story, not just mine, but _any_ story, take a couple minutes and leave a review. I guarantee you that the author will appreciate it, myself included._

_See you soon._

_-Shockrider_


End file.
